Improving cholesterol

How else can I improve my cholesterol?

It’s important for everyone to aim for a healthy lifestyle, even if you are having cholesterol treatment, as this reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) even more. You can do this by:

1. Stopping smoking is one of the best things you can do to improve your cholesterol and overall cardiovascular risk. Your health beings to improve within days of stopping and within a year your risk of heart disease is halved. There are several ways to stop and you are much more likely to succeed if you have help. Find NHS Stop Smoking Services near you.

2. Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight by making healthy choices and change of lifestyle. Read more on healthy living here.

Eating a healthy diet	Achieving a normal weight	Foods to reduce cholesterol
Fats <30% of energy consumes. Saturated fats <7% of total energy eaten. Use mono- or poly-unsaturated fats; e.g olive oil or rapeseed oil instead. Avoid fried or roast food, processed food & takeaways. Cook by grilling, baking, steaming & poaching. Carbohydrates Wholegrain. Less refined starches & sugars. Protein Lean protein. More plant-based protein. Focus on: 5 portions of fruit & veg a day 2 portions of fish per week. 4.5 nuts & seeds per week. Use herbs & spices to flavour instead of butter & salt.	Measure BMI of children and adults using a BMI calculator. Setting realistic weight loss goals. Seek advice about local specialist services for high BMI >40. Tailored, individual approach to weight loss with emphasis on: – healthy diet – control eating pace – behaviour change – relapse prevention Control triggers for over-eating. Reward achievement, especially children. Support self-monitoring of weight & waist circumference. Social support networks.	Aim for >30g/day of dietary fibre. Mediterranean balanced diet is recommended to reduce CVD risk, with plenty of: – fruit – vegetables – nuts – seeds – legumes – fish Plant stanols & sterols, fish oils, omega 3 are not routinely recommended.

3. Reducing alcohol intake. UK guidance recommends:

Men and women should not drink more than 14 units of alcohol per week on a regular basis. 14 units is equivalent to 6 pints of average-strength beer or 10 small glasses of lower-strength wine.
Spread drinking over 3 or more days if regularly drinking as much as 14 units per week.
To cut down on alcohol, have several drink free days per week. To cut down on alcohol, try to have several drink-free days per week.

Alcohol units – NHS (www.nhs.uk)

4. Taking regular exercise. The table below shows how all age groups and abilities can improve activity.

	5 – 18 years	Adults	Disability & frailty
	An average of at least 60 minutes per day of moderate or vigorous intensity activity. One way to tell if you’re working at a moderate intensity is if you can still talk but you can’t sing the words to a song. If your activity requires you to work even harder, it is called vigorous intensity activity. Variety of types of intensities of activities to develop movement skills, muscles & bones, spread across the week, e.g: – jumping – running around the playground – P.E – skipping – dancing	20 minutes of exercise a day of moderate intensity aerobic exercise. One way to tell if you’re working at a moderate intensity is if you can still talk but you can’t sing the words to a song. If your activity requires you to work even harder, it is called vigorous intensity activity. Some examples of moderate intensity aerobic exercises are brisk walking, dancing or gardening Two session per week of muscle strengthening exercises, e.g carrying heavy shopping bags, yoga, heavy gardening or body weight exercises. Balance exercises 2 sessions week helps reduce frailty and risk of falls, especially for people over 65, see link here for some examples > Balance exercises – NHS (www.nhs.uk)	Any increase in volume of activity with aim of 20 minutes of exercise per day Any reduction in being inactive is beneficial Focus on strengthening and balance exercises.