High Cholesterol
What is High Cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a fatty substance that is essential for helping your body function normally, however having too much cholesterol is not good, and can lead to other health problems such as a heart attack or stroke.
You are more likely to get high cholesterol if...
- You're over 50 years old
- You're a man
- You've been through the Menopause
- You're of South Asian or sub-Saharan African Origin.
High Cholesterol can also run in families, or be caused by eating fatty food, not exercising enough, being overweight, smoking and drinking alcohol.
There are no symptoms for having High Cholesterol, you can only find our if you have it by having a blood test.
How to Lower your Cholesterol
Change your Diet
Try to cut down on foods that are high in saturated fats.
Try to Eat Less:
- Cakes and Biscuits
- Butter
- Meat pies, sausages and fatty meat
- Hard chease and cream
Try to Eat More:
- Oily Fish (macrel and salmon)
- Nuts and Seeds
- Fruits and Vegetables
- Olive Oil, Rapeseed Oil, and spreads made from these
- Wholegrain Rice and Pasta, Brown Rice
Resources:
Get Active
Becoming Active doesn't have to mean joining a gym!
Aim to do at least 2.5 hours of exercise a week (150 mins)
A good place to start could be:
- Adding a walk into your daily routine
- Taking up a new sport
- Cycling
- Guided work out videos at home
Resources:
Stop Smoking
Stopping Smoking is still one of the best things you can do for your health.
From the first day, your body starts clearing the toxins and healing itself, and you will soon notice the difference in your wallet too!
You are more likely to quit for good if you have support in place; have a look at the resources below!
Resources:
Cut Down Alcohol
Cutting down on your alcohol intake can have great benefits on your health!
Try to:
- avoid drinking more than 14 units of alcohol a week.
- have several alcohol-free days each week
- avoid drinking lots of alcohol in a short time
Resources:
Further Resources...
Last Updated: 14/04/2025