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1) Replace saturated fat with monounsaturated (olive, canola, peanut oils, avocados) and polyunsaturated fats (sunflower, soybean, fish, nuts and seeds).
2) Stop smoking
3) Maintain a healthy weight
4) Read food labels to decrease your intake of hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils
5) Eat more wholegrain e.g. rice, pasta, noodles, bread and cereals.
6) Increase your soluble fibre intake e.g. oatmeal, kidney beans, apples.
7) Eat 25g of soya protein daily e.g. soya beans, soya milk, soya mince.
8) Increase your exercise, head to the gym 2-3 times per week.
9) Increase the amount of omega 3 in your diet e.g. oily fish, dark green leafy veg, walnuts
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The main risk associated with high cholesterol is coronary heart disease, this is caused by blood vessels becoming narrowed with fatty deposits which then reduce blood flow to the heart leading to angina or if the vessel is blocked completely, a heart attack.
High cholesterol can also increase the risk of:
- stroke
- leg pain
- ulcers
- infections
Cholesterol is transported around the body attached to a protein, there are 2 types of this fat/protein combination: good cholesterol (HDL) and bad cholesterol (LDL). The roles of each are as follows:
LDL - mostly fat and not much protein, it causes cholesterol to be deposited in the arteries.
HDL - mostly protein and not much fat, HDL actually prevents cholesterol building up in the arteries
Of your total cholesterol a high level of HDL and a low level of LDL is desirable.
A lack of exercise is believed to increase LDL ("bad") cholesterol and decrease HDL ("good") cholesterol.
The opposite is true for exercisers, exercise increases your level of HDL cholesterol and lowers your LDL cholesterol.
There are special exercise considerations to be made for exercisers with high cholesterol that's why at Trimwise health clubs our qualified and experienced staff work closely with you to give you the one on one personal care that you need to ensure you are doing the correct exercises safely and effectively to lower your cholesterol.
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