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Control Cholesterol
- What is cholesterol?
- Total cholesterol level
- Lipid profile
- Lowering a high cholesterol level
- Drug treatment
- Reducing the fat in your diet
What is cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a fatty substance (lipid), which is essential to healthy life. Cholesterol is manufactured in the liver but it is also present in saturated fats found in meat and dairy products and man processed foods.
Some people produce more cholesterol than they need. This problem often runs in families and drugs may be needed to lower it.
When the cholesterol level in the blood is high it contributes to the fatty build up in the lining of the blood vessels, called atheroma, which increases the risk of heart disease and strokes.
Your cholesterol level will be checked as part of your CVD risk assessment or if you have other risk factors e.g. high blood pressure, evidence of stroke or heart disease or if you are diabetic.
You may also be able to get your cholesterol checked as part of a health screening programme at your local pharmacy shop.
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Total cholesterol level
Initially your doctor / nurse will take a blood sample to test for the total cholesterol level. This level will be looked at alongside your other CVD risk factors. Your doctor may decide that you need a further blood test, called a lipid profile, which is taken after an overnight fast. This will help to decide what treatment, if any, you may need.
However, if you have a history of heart disease and / or stroke illness then your doctor may start treatment to lower your cholesterol level straight away.
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Lipid profile
A lipid profile gives a much more detailed breakdown of the different fats in your blood. The three main fats in your blood are:
- Low density lipoproteins or LDL: referred to as 'bad cholesterol'. It contributes to fatty tissue being laid down in the blood vessels.
Ideally an LDL should be below 3mmol/l. - High density lipoproteins or HDL: referred to as 'good cholesterol'. It helps to carry away bad cholesterol.
Ideally an HDL level should be above 1.0mmol/l. - Triglycerides: make up about 90% of the fat in your body and are needed to store energy.
Your triglyceride level should be less than 1.5mmol/l.
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Lowering a high cholesterol level
Sometimes you can lower your cholesterol level by reducing the saturated fat and increasing the fibre in your diet as well as increasing your physical activity.
If, however, after 3–6 months your cholesterol level remains high, your doctor may prescribe drugs to lower the amount of cholesterol your body makes.
As a general rule the lower your cholesterol level is then the better it is for you.
Drug treatment
Drugs to treat high cholesterol are mainly from the 'statin' family and usually have to be taken indefinitely.
Though it is possible to buy some statin medicines over the counter it is always advisable to speak to your doctor before starting any new treatment.
Research has found that some people with heart disease, or who have already had a stroke, may benefit from taking these cholesterol lowering medicines irrespective of their cholesterol level.
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Reducing the fat in your diet
It is most effective to replace saturated fats with poly and monounsaturated fats i.e. replacing fat that comes from meat and dairy products with fish and other healthier oils.
Saturated fat is usually solid when cold e.g. butter, lard, fat on meat. Unsaturated fat is liquid at room temperature e.g. olive oil, soft cheese.
By making several small changes in your daily routine you can get good results. For example try:
- Choosing low fat varieties of cheese such as cottage cheese as the harder the cheese the higher the fat content
- Switching from butter to reduced fat spreads
- Switching from full fat milk to semiskimmed or skimmed milk
- Choosing low fat varieties of yoghurt and fromage frais
- Choosing unsaturated oils such as rapeseed, sunflower or olive oil remember being 'oily' is not necessarily bad for you
- Replacing meat with fish, especially mackerel, herring, sardines, trout, salmon or pilchards
- Trimming all visible fat from meat before cooking
- Discarding any fat that comes out of food during cooking
- Grilling instead of frying
- Avoiding all pastry as it is high in fat
- Eating fewer meat products such as pies, pasties, sausage rolls, hamburgers and sausages
- Replacing snacks such as crisps, cakes and biscuits with fruit
- Checking labels for hidden fats in processed foods and ready made meals
- Increasing the amount of carbohydrates in your diet (unless you want to lose weight) e.g. pasta, cereals, rice, bread. This will replace the energy that you used to get from fat
- Increase your fruit and vegetables to five portions a day – this increases your intake of fibre as well as A, C, and E vitamins
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