HEALTH - Reducing Cholestorol Levels

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We have all heard of it, we all know we should keep an eye on it, and most of us realise that too much of it in our bodies can lead to serious health problems, both in adults and in children. There are three main things to consider when talking about cholesterol:

  • What is it?
  • How can we check/ monitor it?
  • What are the things that contribute to high cholesterol?

What is cholestorol?

Cholesterol plays an important part in making your body work: it helps to make cell membranes, hormones, and vitamin D. Mostly it is naturally produced by our livers but we also get some of it from what we eat.

Cholesterol only becomes a problem when the level in your blood becomes too high as, being a fat, it can't dissolve in our water based bloodstream. Too much saturated fat in the diet can increase blood cholesterol to the point where you have more of it in your body than you need, and it can handle. If you have too much of it in your blood it can cause the build up of fatty deposits in your arteries, which narrows them and restricts the amount of blood that can pass through.

Check & Monitor Cholestorol Levels

A blood test is all it takes- a simple trip to the doctors will enable you to find out about your cholesterol and will also allow you to discuss ways to ensure it stays healthy.

The main causes of High Cholestorol

One of the main factors is our diet especially foods high in saturated fat, such as: cakes, chocolate, cheeses, sausages, steaks and bacon. Try swapping these for lean meats, fish, low fat spreads and milk.

Cholesterol levels seem to naturally rise with age and men are more likely to be affected by high cholesterol than women.

Being overweight and not doing enough exercise can both increase your LDL (Bad) Cholesterol levels and decrease your HDL (good) Cholesterol levels.

Family history can be a factor. If you have a close male relative aged under 55 or a female relative aged under 65, affected by heart disease, you could have raised cholesterol which is why it is important to monitor your own cholesterol levels regularly.

If you smoke, you will reduce the amounts of good cholesterol in your body. Smoking is also linked to heart disease and cancer.

Drinking more than the recommended daily amount of alcohol can lead to high cholestorol. In moderation, some types of alcohol, especially red wine, have been found to be good as they increases HDL (good) cholesterol, however, alcohol will not lower the LDL (bad) cholesterol and drinking too much will damage the liver, the heart and raise your blood pressure.

Useful links and information sources

You can find BMI (Body Mass Index) calculators on the following web sites:

For general information: