High Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a type of fat made by the body. It is needed to maintain healthy nerve cells and to produce certain hormones, and is also found in every cell of the body. Cholesterol is in foods that mainly come from animals, such as meat, poultry, fish and dairy products. Foods of plant origin have no cholesterol.

The main causes of high cholesterol are:

• a diet that is high in saturated fats (meat, butter, cream) and trans fats (biscuits, cakes, pastries and fast food) or cholesterol
• lack of exercise
• family history – inherited proneness to process cholesterol abnormally
• being overweight
• age and sex - cholesterol generally rises slightly with increasing age, and men are more likely to be affected than women
• drinking alcohol excessively

If other risk factors such as high blood pressure and smoking are present, the risk of high cholesterol is increased due to the fact that they all interact with each other.

High cholesterol can result in the lack of oxygen to the heart muscle, therefore causing chest pain. There is also a huge probability of a blood clot developing on the surface of the fatty deposit in the artery. This may lead to a complete blockage of the artery, leading to a heart attack or stroke.


What to do
If you have been diagnosed with high cholesterol, the following tips are a guide to help lower your cholesterol:

• Change your diet
• Lose excess weight
• Exercise more
• Stop smoking

For a healthy diet, remove fat and skin from fish, poultry and meat, and instead of frying, boil, bake or roast. Cut back on high fat meats such as bacon and sausage. Use skimmed milk and low fat dairy products (cheese and yoghurt). Eat fruits and vegetables (at least 5 servings a day), including whole grains, cereals, breads, pasta, and rice.

Get at a minimum of 30 minutes exercise for most days of the week consisting of activities such as walking, housework and dancing. For more energetic exercises, try swimming, brisk walking, jogging or cycling.

Regular visits to the doctor is highly recommended in order to maintain good health, it is also a good form of early prevention from serious illnesses.

Any medical information on this website is not designed as an alternative for informed medical advice, and you should not take any action before seeking advice from a health care professional.

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