The Doctor Is In

Dr Max Pemberton

Q: Dear Dr Max, I’m hoping you can give me some advice. I have been advised to reduce my cholesterol, but how? I’m not especially overweight, I try to eat healthy and I already do regular exercise. How else can I reduce my cholesterol? Are there any particular foods that may seem healthy but actually should be avoided?

- Jan

A: Dear Jan,

This is such a good question and one that lots of people want to know about because high cholesterol, unfortunately, is very common. High cholesterol can be caused by a number of things, from lifestyle and dietary factors that can be changed, to age and genetics that can’t. It’s always worthwhile trying to make the changes necessary to see if this improves things.

The first is avoiding foods that are high in saturated fat. These include pastry, processed meat, butter and cream. Instead, try to substitute in other foods that are high in unsaturated fat, such as vegetable oil, nuts, seeds and oily fish. Some foods contain cholesterol, like eggs and some shellfish like prawns and crabs, but are low in saturated fat and so are still OK to eat. Eating food high in fibre can also help to actively reduce your cholesterol, so make sure you’re having at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day and eat things like pulses and wholegrain food.

Oats and barley are particularly good at helping to reduce cholesterol.

Other lifestyle factors include making sure you do enough exercise, stopping smoking and reducing your drinking, as this helps the liver to process the bad cholesterol. There is more information about lifestyle changes and cholesterol on the British Heart Foundation website (bhf.org.uk). Making these changes will benefit your overall health too. It’s incredibly important to get your cholesterol checked regularly and take action if it is high, as high cholesterol is a major risk factor for strokes and heart attacks.

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