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Lowering Cholesterol

Margaret52129
Posts: 262 Forumite
Hi, I need to lower my cholesterol (it's not extremely high, but over the limit) but the drinks/margarine etc(like Benecol and Flora active) at the supermarkets are quite pricey, has anyone found any alternative to these? I thought my diet was pretty good anyway with my OH being a vegetarian who is on a constant diet :rolleyes: we don't have a lot of butter or cream, use skimmed or 1% milk and eat quite high fibre foods.
Thanks for any advice.
M
Thanks for any advice.
M
0
Comments
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It can run in families and should be checked out with a doc in case there's an underlying medical reason. In the meantime garlic capsules are cheap and won't do any harm while you get proper advice.0
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a change in diet and lifestyle may help - try to add oats to your diet - perhaps switch to oat milk, or start the day with a bowl of porridge...and try to meditate a little, maybe just 20 mins in the morning...Hi, we’ve had to remove your signature. If you’re not sure why please read the forum rules or email the forum team if you’re still unsure - MSE ForumTeam0
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In the meantime garlic capsules are cheap and won't do any harm while you get proper advice.
Many things in life are cheap. It doesn't mean they work.
I suggest speaking to your GP and having a look at the british heart foundation website.0 -
Ingested fat is thought to be the bad-boy , but one of the lesser known dietary contributors to high cholesterol levels is refined carbohydrate (high glycaemic index foods such as sugars, white bread, cakes, alcohol, potatoes, other white flour products, etc etc). I can't remember the science, it's something to do with glycogen or glucagon levels, and with refined carbs being changed straight into stored fat by the body.
My DD has PCOS and her doctor advised a low-carb diet. I had no experience of this at the time and bought a book called Sugarbusters (similar to the atkins diet but where high fibre, low glycaemic index foods were allowed). The author made some pretty convincing claims to the relationship between carbs and cholesterol.0 -
Thanks for your replies - I had considered going to Docs to have it verified as this check was a freebie at Sainsbury's (a Flora invite - so you can buy their stuff!) but last time I went, they (Docs) said they didn't do them! That was some years ago I know, so I may try them again.
annie2005 - As far as I know it doesn't run in my family, having said that my mum died of a heart attack after being treated for 'heartburn' for many months before that (this was in 1983) but she had been a heavy smoker for nearly all her life (she started when whe was 13!!) What do garlic capsules do? I thought they were good for colds etc.
red - I've not heard of oat milk, but my OH was told to eat oats more when he was having loads of problems and had his cholesterol checked at same time and found to be high. I like oats so will try porridge in mornings.
Thanks myrnahaz I'll go visit the library to see if i can find the Sugarbuster book, it doesn't harm to read up on things like this and if it helps the diet, then all well and good.0 -
My DH makes his daily porridge with Oatly milk - he said he couldn't tell the difference between that and 'proper' milk.
He's been prescribed statins to lower his cholesterol but there is so much bad press about them that he's working hard to cut down dietary cholesterol as well. It'll be interesting to see how well he's done when he has his next check - he's hoping he'll be able to stop the statins.0 -
flora do a pro active milk which acts in the same ways as spreads0
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