Counting cholesterol

Cholesterol has long been considered to be the bad guy - associated with increased blood pressure and heart disease. However, we do actually need cholesterol - in the form of High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) - to be healthy.

  burger and chipsCholesterol is a double-edged sword. With too much of the 'bad' Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) in your blood, you're storing up trouble in the shape of heart disease and cancer. But follow a strict low-fat diet for too long and you'll have too little of the good guys, High Density Lipoprotein, and your body's nerve signal transmission will be affected.

But it's LDL that is the problem for most people, and it's a problem that increases as we get older. The quickest route to high cholesterol is to over-indulge in saturated fats. Around 6g of saturated fat a day should be your limit, but one portion of takeaway fish and chips notches up a staggering 14g of saturated fat. Saturated fats are found in butter, cheese, fatty meats and cream. Coffee that's been boiled or percolated also raises LDL, but filtered is fine.

Checking your cholesterol levels
First get your blood cholesterol levels checked. This is a simple blood test you can have at your doctor's surgery or with a home-testing kit from Boots. High cholesterol may also be detected by an optician during an eye test, but this is not part of the normal service, so don't think all's well if nothing is mentioned. High cholesterol can also be genetic, so don't be complacent either if you think you eat healthily. Smokers should also be aware that cigarettes worsen the situation.

The optimum level of cholesterol in the blood is 5.2mmols per litre. Pass 6.2mmols and you need to take action to lower you cholesterol.

So what should and shouldn't you be eating?
Cut down on:
Fatty meats and fried food, high fat cheese, cream Cakes, biscuits and pastries as they are high in saturated fats Cafètiere coffee.

Eat more of:
Monosaturated fats like olive oil, almonds avocados can help lower cholesterol Specially developed foods such as Benecol yogurts and spreads can help lower cholesterol Fish, nuts and lean meat Fruits such as apple and pears can lower cholesterol Oily fish – salmon, tuna, mackerel, trout and sardines all contain high levels of omega-3 fatty acids that raise HDL and lower LDL Replace saturated fat with olive oil as this also lowers LDL.