Good fat verses bad: understanding cholesterol
08 Jul 2013
In Australia 32 per cent of adults have high cholesterol, putting them at risk of health problems such as heart disease and strokes. The good news is that modifying your diet, and following a healthy lifestyle can reduce unhealthy cholesterol levels.
What is cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a type of body fat that is essential for your body’s natural processes. Your liver and other cells in the body produce it, and lipoproteins help transport it in your blood stream.
Cholesterol plays a role in a number of your body’s functions, including producing hormones like oestrogen and testosterone, as well as vitamin D. It also helps moderate your metabolism and assists with the production of bile acids that help your body digest fat and absorb nutrients.
The high and low of it
There are two types of cholesterol – good cholesterol, High Density Lipoproteins (HDL) and bad cholesterol, Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL).
HDL helps remove excess cholesterol from your cells, protecting you from heart disease while LDL has the potential to clog your blood vessels, cutting off blood flow to your heart and brain.
What constitutes a healthy level of cholesterol is dependent on a number of factors, such as age, whether you are a smoker, are obese, have high blood pressure, diabetes or a family history of heart disease.
A goal cholesterol level is 4.5mmol/L. The CSIRO indicates that an individual with cholesterol levels of 6.5mmol/L is four times more at risk of heart disease than a person with a level of 4mmol/L.
Management matters
Your body produces all the cholesterol you need so it’s important not to upset the balance and consume foods that are high in saturated fats, such as fatty or processed meats, takeaway food, cakes or pastries.
You’ll be happy to know that there are foods that have the ability to actively reduce cholesterol.
Oats and legumes are powerful cholesterol reducers, while chickpeas, alfalfa sprouts, garlic, artichokes, beans, broccoli, beetroot, carrots and onions are also valuable.
Fruits high in soluble fibre can also lower cholesterol, such as apples, oranges, apricots, mangoes and plums.
The CSIRO advises that the most effective way to lower your cholesterol is to reduce the amount of animal fat in your diet.
Other behavioural changes that will help reduce cholesterol include:
- Reducing the amount of cheese you eat or by choosing reduced fat milks.
- Using polyunsaturated or monounsaturated margarine or oils instead of butter.
- Choosing lean cuts of meat and removing all visible fat.
- Make skinless chicken, fish and beans a staple in your diet.
- Steer clear of pies and battered chicken or fish.
- To satisfy your sweet tooth, make cakes at home with polyunsaturated fat and cook chips with polyunsaturated or monounsaturated oil.
Reduce and increase
If you have been identified as having a high level of cholesterol the most valuable step you can take is to reduce the amount of alcohol you consume and increase the amount you exercise.
Limit yourself to one or two glasses of alcohol per day and commit to exercising in some capacity each day.
In the past, there was a widely accepted belief that eating foods that contained cholesterol, such as eggs, were off limits.
This belief has now been disproved. According to the Heart Foundation, the dietary cholesterol in eggs has only a small insignificant effect on blood LDL cholesterol. This means you can enjoy up to six eggs each week as part of a healthy balanced diet as they contain good quality protein, lots of vitamins and minerals, and the healthier polyunsaturated fat.
Foods marked as low in cholesterol can also be misleading. Cholesterol-free foods are low in animal fats but can still be high in saturated fat, such as coconut oil.
Finally, a common misconception is that high cholesterol is a condition associated with overweight or obese people. While this is true, anyone can have high cholesterol levels and be at risk of heart disease, particularly those with a family history.
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