Why is High Cholesterol A problem?
High cholesterol is a major risk factor for heart disease or cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of death in the UK, and is one which is influenced heavily by what we eat. Cardiovascular diseases are a term for conditions that lead to narrowed or blocked blood vessels. These can put us at increased risk of heart attacks, angina (chest pain) or strokes.
High blood pressure, high cholesterol or high triglycerides, type 2 diabetes and being overweight are all factors which increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Often we develop more than one of these risk factors together. They are very heavily influenced by our lifestyle including what we eat, how much exercise we take, how much alcohol we drink and whether we smoke.
How Is It Treated?
Cardiovascular risk factors are treated by taking medications which will be prescribed by a GP. Many people wonder if they can reduce their risk factors by changing their diet and lifestyle first.
The good news is that, by making some very simple and easy dietary and lifestyle changes, most people can lower their cholesterol levels and avoid having to take statins. The difficult part can be knowing where to begin!
How Can Diet Help?
Many people don’t know what dietary factors actually cause high cholesterol in the blood, and they may try to avoid cholesterol in their diet, or go on a very low fat diet. This can be problematic if the resulting diet becomes too restrictive and difficult to keep up in the long run. Other times, people are told that they have high cholesterol, but they are not overweight and are worried that they will lose weight by changing their diet.
At Stanner Nutrition Clinic your diet will be assessed by a qualified dietitian who can explain the relationship between diet and cholesterol in the blood, and pinpoint accurately the foods you are eating that are causing your high cholesterol. then they will suggest small, but manageable changes you can make to your diet which will help lower your cholesterol. These changes will be personalised to you, your food preferences and your needs as an individual. These changes will also help to reduce any excess weight (or prevent undesirable weight loss) and improve your overall health and wellbeing.
At Stanner Nutrition Clinic we have successfully helped many of our clients to reduce their cholesterol through diet, avoiding the need for statins.
