Lower your cholesterol - Live Well - NHS Choices
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Your health, your choices
Lower your cholesterol
Eating a healthy diet and doing regular exercise can help lower the level of cholesterol in your blood.
Adopting healthy habits, such as eating a healthy, balanced diet and keeping active, can also help prevent your cholesterol levels becoming high in the
first place.
It's important to keep your cholesterol in check because high cholesterol levels increase your risk of heart disease and stroke.
lf you,re concerned about your cholesterol, talk to your GP. lf you are aged 40 to 74, you can get your cholesterol checked as part of an NHS Health
Check.
lf your Gp has advised you to change your diet to reduce your blood cholesterol, you should cut down on saturated fat and eat more fibre,
including plenty of truit and vegetables.
Fats and cholesterol
Saturated and unsaturated fat
your blood.
There are two main types of fat - saturated and unsaturated. Eating too many foods high in saturated fat can raise the level of cholesterol in
Most people in the UK eat too much saturated fat.
Foods high in saturated fat include:
. meat pies
. sausages and fatty cuts of meat
. bufter, ghee and lard
.
cream
.
foods containing coconut or palm oil
. hard cheeses
. cakes and biscuits
Eating foods that contain unsaturated fat instead of saturated fat can actually help reduce cholesterol levels.
Try to replace foods containing saturated fats with small amounts of foods high in unsaturated fats, such as:
.
.
.
.
.
oily fish -such as mackerel and salmon
nuts - such as almonds and cashews
seeds-such as sunflowerand pumpkin seeds
avocados
vegetable oils and spreads - such as rapeseed or vegetable oil, sunflower, olive, corn and walnut oils
Trans fats
Trans fats can also raise cholesterol levels. Trans fats can be found naturally in small amounts in some foods, such as animal products, including meat,
milk and dairy foods.
Artificial trans fats can be found in hydrogenated fat, so some processed foods, such as biscuits and cakes, can contain trans fats.
ln the UK, manufacturers and most ofthe supermarkets have reduced the amount oftrans fats in their products. Most people in the UK don't eat a lot of
trans fats, but you should keep checking food labels for hydrogenated fats or oils.
Reducing total fat
Reducing the total amount of fat in your diet can also help reduce your risk of heart disease.
lnstead of roasting or frying, consider:
.
grilling
'. steaming
.
poaching
boiling
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