Diet question

[Jakesmama]

Can anyone recommend a diet/cook book they will help to lower cholesterol please

[CA1949]

I have been doing slimmers world and that has helped enormously to not only knock the weight off but also to reduce my cholesterol levels. They have recipes online. I have also been eating a lot of pineapple which a nurse has told me is excellent for reducing cholesterol. Not sure if it does but I am a lot better.

[stevejb1810]

There are so many that it’d be hard to recommend one. Essentially you need to up your fruit, nuts, seeds and veg intake a lot, reduce your meat/animal fat intake a lot, and cut out processed food and probably most dairy too. A good bowl full of oats in the morning is also a good starter. And don’t forget to exercise (even if it’s just a brisk walk every day).

[Maisie2014]

Healthy Food Guide. I subscribe to this monthly magazine. It’s excellent. The May magazine is about heart issues.

[Jakesmama]

Thank you

[Conduction]

Eat plemty of Oatmeal, oat bran and high-fiberfoods. ... Soluble fiber is also found in such foods as kidney beans, Brussels sprouts, apples and pears. Soluble fiber can reduce the absorption of cholesterol into your bloodstream. Five to 10 grams or more of soluble fiber a day decreases your LDL cholesterol. Which is the BAD cholesterol. Oat Bran has a lot of Soluable fibre, also very good for your heart and lowering blood pressure.

Do exercise every day, a minimum of 10,000 steps a day. Hope this helps.

[MichaelJH Heart Star in reply to Conduction]

I have spoken to both my GP and cardiologist about the 10,000 steps. It does not appear to be in any guidelines bar Dr Google. My best is 6,000 - 7,000 per day (arthritic hip) and they are happy with this. I know others here also cannot manage 10,000 for varying reasons.

Good tip about soluble fibre as it can reduce cholesterol by up to 20%. 👍

[stevejb1810 in reply to MichaelJH]

The 10000 steps comes from a Japanese guy who wanted the Japanese to get more active ahead on the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. He was also seeking to sell pedometers! Anyway, there is no scientific justification for the 10000 steps target. It's just that the myriad companies selling fitness devices and plans has jumped on the 10000 steps so it has taken on a life of its own. The important thing isn't the number of steps but the quality of the steps you do - I can walk 10000 steps and barley break sweat, but if I up the pace, it's harder. I set my count at 8000 but I make sure I walk hard! Having said all of this, the key thing is to be active and if counting to 10000 steps gets you there then thats great.

[Conduction in reply to MichaelJH]

Michael

You might find this useful to read.

sciencedaily.com/releases/2...

[DavidG1971]

My experience is that I lost weight and reduced cholesterol levels hand in hand. Prior to my Angina I my cholesterol was 6.3 and I was beginning to put a few pounds on post summer....biscuits, chocolate and McD had crept back onto the menu. I’m back on nuts, porridge, fish, chicken, apples, cranberries - not as varied as it could be. Although the statins probably take a lot of the credit for getting down to cholesterol of 2.4 - I’ve lost around 1 stone as well. So anything that helps you lose weight, probably works for cholesterol as well. Been one of the upsides of the whole experience - I move and feel a lot better now. My diet clearly isn’t perfect - but it’s a huge improvement on where it was.

[Yildez in reply to DavidG1971]

Can I ask how long it took you please,to lower your cholesterol please,thanks

[DavidG1971 in reply to Yildez]

1st blood test was October, 2nd one April. So I’ve no idea if I got there in a week or months.

[Yildez in reply to DavidG1971]

Thank you, are you still taking statin? Now it’s so low?

[DavidG1971 in reply to Yildez]

Yes - I think I’m stuck with them now. But I haven’t experienced any side effects...so not too worried about it.

[Yildez in reply to DavidG1971]

Thank you

[Ianc2]

Try and get rid of the white stuff - bread, cakes, biscuits and sugar in all its forms. Remove processed food and have a look at the 'forks over knives' video on line. Have a look at the natural vegetarian site. The BHF Mediterranean diet is well documented. If you have a look in your local library you may find some useful cookbooks. The diabetes.org website has some good ideas as well.

You may wish to look at the weightwatchers website for recipe advice. The typical British diet is very carb heavy - fry ups, chips, pies, sausage, pasties, pasties and cakes. It evolved from the days of heavy industry, unheated houses and no labour saving machines in the home. Hard physical work required lots of energy to be burnt immediately. If you look at the pictures of the troops in the first world war there were not many overweight conscript soldiers.

Our lives have changed. Our jobs have become much more sedentary, interacting with computer systems, etc. and cars take all the effort out of travelling and we are much less physically active than we used to be. So the diet has to change. Have a look at Berit Nordstrand's website and her belly fat program.. Waist sizes should be less than half your height, on average 37 inches for men, 31 inches or 80cm for women.

Congratulations. You have just found a new, informative, confusing, absorbing and contradictory hobby. I hope you enjoy your search.