Cholesterol

No it won't make much of a difference

Hi, don't worry too much about Christmas, life would be intolerable if we gave up everything for ever.

About 10 years ago a routine blood test came back to me at 7.8. I had no clue what it was all about at the time.

It turns out I have an heriditary cholesterol problem.When I mentioned it to my dad he told me he and his mum have had it for years, I never knew as neither of them ever mentioned it. My Granny died at 98 with no treatment whatsoever. I tried the statins but they didn't agree with me.

So I eat porridge for breakfast (took a while to get used to it but with a little brown sugar it's really nice), use Provit spread instead of margarine and take a provit probiotic every day (there are other makes). I try to eat a good balanced diet with veg and watch the fat in things carefully.

I am not giving up the lot though. If you google 'diet for cholesterol lowering', you will get loads of advice on what foods to eat to lower cholesterol naturally.

Due entirely to my doing this my cholesterol has come down to 5.7. I am happy with this and so is my doc.

If you are offered the statins, give them a try, they may suit you and are excellent at bringing the levels down.

If you are carrying a little too much weight, try and lose it by walking every day and keeping off the 'naughties' for a while. This will also lower your cholesterol quite a bit.

Although the NICE guidlines are for 5.2 or lower many people live long and happy lives with higher numbers. There are also many docs who will not take the statins themselves.

Do some research and see how you go. Try not to worry too much, there are many worse things to worry about in most our lives.

Best wishes to you, Fanny Jane.

I would suggest completely avoiding unnecessary medication at all costs. Both myself and my father suffered from high cholesterol. My dad was on statins and suffering the side effects. We completed an online 4 week cholesterol lowering course which included recipes, a whole host of informative topics and loads of practical guidance and tips. We've lowered our cholesterol naturally through diet alone. There have been many studies completed and it's a proven method to lower your risk of heart disease; in fact following a plant based diet has actually reversed heart disease in a number of cases.

I'm currently studying nutritional therapy and really feel that people completely underestimate the power of food.

just had my test back. 4.5 with 2.9 hdl, is this ok