Excess Cholesterol, Urgent Action Required

Cut out sugar (read labels for hidden sugar) and flour and up your intake of vegetables but NOT potatoes. One baked potato = 10 sugar cubes.  Do not take statins. If you react to them then the rest of your life could be hell. Find other ways. Watch BBC1 programme on Player or internet on carbs.Very revealing. 

I assume your supermarket is a fair distance. Short walk not enough. How about a dog?

Start NOW!

Lea

I've had exactly the same news, 7.1, and have been summoned to the surgery on Thursday for a lecture. Unlike you though I have been following a reasonably healthy diet and get plenty of exercise but the better my lifestyle and diet gets the more my cholesterol rises. I'll see what happens on Thursday.

Hi David - I so sympathise, why is it that 'bad' food tastes so good? :-)  Try reducing sugars and unhealthy carbs rather than depriving yourself of everything you like.  Somebody else on these forums mentioned 'white' foods - basic but correct - white sugar, white flour (and anything made from it, like bread and cakes), etc.  The fat found in whole milk, butter and other dairy products is not as evil as we've been made to think.  Scandinavians for example eat huge amounts of it and have lower than average heart problems.  Trans fats are the killers.  Processed foods of any kind (bacon, sausages, pre-prepared meals, and so on) are to be avoided.  Basically if you buy fresh ingredients and cook it yourself, its better (within reason).  Exercise is really the key.  At our age spending hours pumping away in the gym is definitely not the answer but just moving more can reap amazing rewards.  I sit on my ever widening posterior for many hours a day whilst working and it shows.  Walking to the shop as you say, walking up stairs, things like if you need to drive somewhere, park at a distance from the shop for example to make yourself walk a little further back and forth, every little helps.  Not all carbs by the way are bad for you, just the starchy ones like potatoes, bread, rice (all white you notice).  Have a read up on resistant starch - these are foods that resist the digestive process and pass through the upper intestine into the lower bowel and feed the good gut bacteria - this helps with a whole range of issues, like diabetes, cholesterol, weight gain etc etc.  Strict dieting is definitely NOT healthy or sustainable.  Small lifestyle changes can work wonders!

Hi, David. I feel sorry for your condition. You need to take care of your diet. Cut down all the food that contains saturated fats and sugar. You need to rely on fiber rich food like fruits, vegetables, flax seeds etc. as advised by Dr. Janet Brill, nutrition, health and fitness expert. Also, you must opt for 30 minutes daily walk. All the best.