High Cholesterol

[FannyFifer]

My DP has just found out he has high Cholesterol.
He doesn't drink or smoke but there is a family history of high cholesterol,his dad has has several strokes resulting in needing 24 hour care.

Not really been given much advice except to change his diet.

What should he avoid, are there any websites with a fools guide to recipes etc.

Help!

Basically he needs to change his lifestyle.

Exercise is essential- latest recommendation is at least 30 mins moderate to tough exercise 5x a week.

Food wise- cut out animal fats, inc. hard cheeses and red meat, and cakes, biscuits etc made with fats, and eat more foods with Omega 3- oily fish, etc. use olive oil for cooking, eat avocadoes and nuts for good oils.

Eat foods like oats ( porridge) which supposedly mop-up fat in the blood stream and can reduce chol, levels.

I think there's only so much that a change of diet can accomplish when its hereditary, but worth losing some weight and doing some exercise just in case.

And drink grapefruit juice - its not recommended to drink it while you are taking statins, as it basically does the same job but the big pharmaceutical companies don't get loads of money out of you There are also other natural tablets you can try (red rice yeast I think?) which must be better than taking statins.

I'd be doing whatever it takes to avoid taking them, but if he can't lower it himself, then he can try them as a last resort. Being aware of it is half the battle.

Thanks for replies.

He is a bit overweight but does a very physical job so is pretty fit & active.

Shall put grapefruit juice on shopping list.
I bought benecol spread so I assume that's better than using butter? Prob just a marketing ploy.

Think it's going to give both of us a wee kick start to get a bit healthier.

I assume brown rice, pasta, bread etc are better than white?

He loves red meat but shall try & cut that out, have a couple of veggie dinners a week, more fish & chicken etc.

Hope that sounds like I'm doing the right things?

I am playing it down to him as he really really worries due to his dad etc, he smoked etc though & didn't look after himself or take the meds etc he was meant to.

Lots of useful info here:heartuk.org.uk/

Also any recipes that are good for heart problems or diabetes should be good for cholesterol.

yy to wholegrain instead of white bread etc. Homemade cakes and biscuits are meant to be better than shop bought, also avoid biscuits with a cream filling.

We had a thread on this recently!

He needs to...

Exercise - as much as he can

Relax - stress and worry is the main cause when it's hereditory

Eat well - three meals a day (not eating last meal too late). Lots of salads, fruit and veggies, grilled fish, lean meats... 'Bitter' salad leaves (rocket, radiccio, herbs etc and radish...) are very good for lowering it, as is porridge. Limit coffee to one a day. Eat well, and eat in moderation. Brown pasta, rice etc where possible and watch the fat in shop bought bread. Apples and pears are good. The 'usual suspects' should be limited - prawns, palm oil etc. Some nuts are good (almonds) but I think Brazils and walnuts are not.

Take a good vitamin supplement - also fish oils (good for the heart) and a plant sterol like Lestrin.

I would also suggest maybe a tiny bit of butter rather than a lot of marg. Not sure about the Benecol stuff as i havent used it, but lots of people swear by it.

Oh yes - homemade cakes and breads are best - there is alotof salt and sugar in the shop ones and I'd rather have a little of the good stuff than loads of the bad!

Linseed is good too. The now say to use olive oil cold (so on a salad) and grapesees (or is it rapeseed?) for cooking.