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A healthycholesterolYou probably already know that cholesterol hassomething to do with heart disease and stroke. Butlike many people, you may be confused aboutcholesterol, all the different fats you eat, whathappens to them in your body and how they affectyour heart.

In this booklet, we will answer your most commonlyasked questions about cholesterol.


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First, a few facts• Your blood vessels - arteries and veins - and yourheart are together called your cardiovascularsystem. Diseases that affect the cardiovascularsystem are called cardiovascular diseases. Theseinclude angina, heart attacks and strokes. Forconvenience we will mostly use the terms heartdisease and stroke in this booklet.

• The main cause of cardiovascular disease is calledhardening of the arteries or atherosclerosis.

• Cardiovascular disease is the biggest cause of deathin Ireland for both men and women. However, formany people heart disease and stroke can bedelayed or even prevented. Healthy eating, beingphysically active and not smoking all help to reduceyour chances of these diseases.

• One of the best ways to prevent heart disease andstroke is to keep your cholesterol at a healthy level.This booklet will outline ways to help you do this.

• Cardiovascular disease can be inherited, so ifsomeone in your family has the disease, it is likelyyou may also get it.

• Having high cholesterol affects people of all ages.u

• If you already have heart disease, or there is ahistory of heart disease or stroke in your family,making small healthy changes now can make adifference to your life today and in the future. eat,


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Why is cholesterol important?Having high cholesterol levels in your blood is one ofthe risk factors which increases your chances ofgetting heart disease and stroke.

What is cholesterol?Cholesterol is a type of fat found in your blood. Youneed a certain amount of cholesterol for all your bodycells and to produce important hormones. However, ifthere is too much cholesterol in your blood, it sticks toyour artery walls to form atheroma or plaque.

Cholesterol in the blood sticks to arterywalls to form plaque. This plaque buildsup and may block the artery.

As a result of this build-up on the artery walls, yourarteries become narrowed. This process is calledhardening of the arteries or atherosclerosis.

• If an artery supplying the heart muscle becomesblocked completely, the heart muscle becomesdamaged. This is known as a heart attack.

• If an artery to the brain is completely blocked, itdamages the brain. This is called a stroke.


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Where does cholesterol come from?Cholesterol is made in the body mainly by the liver.This is often called blood cholesterol. The body canproduce all the cholesterol it needs to carry out itsmany functions and can usually maintain a healthylevel of blood cholesterol. However, sometimes thebalance goes wrong and there is an increase in bloodcholesterol. This may result from inherited problemsor from eating too much saturated (animal) fat or toomany foods from the top shelf of the Food Pyramid(see pages 9 and 10).

The level of cholesterol in your blood isaffected by the amount of saturated fatsyou eat every day.

Some foods such as eggs, liver and shellfish containcholesterol. However, the amount of cholesterol inthese foods does not greatly affect the amount ofcholesterol in your blood. You can eat foods thatcontain cholesterol in moderation as part of a healthyvaried diet.

If you do not have a high blood cholesterol level, youcan eat up to 7 eggs a week. However if you havebeen diagnosed with a high cholesterol level, youmay be advised to eat less eggs, depending on yourdiet.


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The relationship between cholesterol and heartdisease, stroke and diseases of the blood vessels isvery complicated but it helps to look at howcholesterol is carried around in the bloodstream.

There are two main types of cholesterol - HDLcholesterol (high density lipoprotein) and LDLcholesterol (low density lipoprotein).

Confused about cholesterol?

HDLHDL cholesterol iscalled goodcholesterol or healthycholesterol, becauseit mops upcholesterol leftbehind in yourarteries and carries itto your liver where itis broken down andpassed out of yourbody.

Regular physicalactivity and exercisecan help increaseyour HDL level.

High levels of HDLcholesterol canprotect you againsthaving a heartattack or a stroke.

LDLLDL cholesteroltravels from your liverthrough your arteriesto other parts of yourbody. LDL is calledbad cholesterolbecause it sticks tothe walls in yourarteries - makingthem narrow. Thisreduces the bloodsupply to your heartor brain.

Eating too manyfoods high insaturated fat canraise your LDLcholesterol.

High levels of LDLcholesterol increaseyour risk of heartdisease and stroke.


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Fats in food are a mixture of:• saturated fats;• unsaturated fats which can be either mono-unsaturated fats or polyunsaturated fats; and

• trans fats

Confused about fats?

Saturated fatsSaturated fats are found in foods like butter, hardmargarine, lard, cream, cheese, fatty meat, cakes, biscuitsand chocolates. Vegetable oils such as coconut oil andpalm oil are also high in saturated fat. Check the foodlabels on processed and ready-made meals for theamount of saturated fats.

What effect do they have?Saturated fats can raise your LDL (bad) cholesterol andincrease your chances of heart disease or having astroke.

Monounsaturated fatsMonounsaturated fats are found in many foods but themain sources include olive, peanut and rapeseed(canola) oil, spreads that contain these oils, as well asavocadoes, seeds and some nuts (for example cashews,almonds and peanuts).

What effect do they have?Monounsaturated fats can help lower the amount ofLDL (bad) cholesterol in your blood and reduce yourchances of heart disease and stroke.

Polyunsaturated fatsThere are two main types of polyunsaturated fats:omega 3 fats and omega 6 fats. These fats are sometimescalled essential fats because our bodies cannot makethem and we have to get them from the food we eat.

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Cholesterol-lowering foods are not suitable forchildren under five years or for pregnant orbreastfeeding mothers.

Cholesterol-lowering foods are not a replacement forcholesterol-lowering medicine prescribed by yourdoctor and are not a replacement for following ahealthy diet and lifestyle.

If you are taking medicine for high cholesterol, it isimportant that you do not replace your medicine withthese products and to still have a healthy diet toreduce your risk.

What if I have low HDL?If your blood test showed that your HDL cholesterol isbelow the recommended levels (on page 11), you willneed to increase this level to reduce your risk of heartdisease and stroke.

You can increase the healthy HDL levels by:• being more active;• reducing your weight; and• if you smoke, by stopping smoking.

Your doctor may also prescribe medication to raiseyour HDL levels.


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What can I do if my triglycerides are too high?• Follow the general advice for lowering your bloodcholesterol on page 12 - this will also help loweryour triglycerides.

• Oily fish, such as sardines, mackerel, trout or salmoncan help lower your triglyceride levels. Try to eatoily fish (fresh or tinned) twice a week, for example,one main meal and one lunch serving.

• Oily fish, which contains omega 3 fatty acids,improves the blood circulation, reduces thestickiness of the blood and prevents your bloodfrom clotting.

• If you drink alcohol, take no more than one drink(such as a small glass of wine or a half pint of beer)a day and go some days without any alcohol.

• Watch the amount of sweet foods you eat from thetop shelf of the Food Pyramid, like biscuits, cakes,chocolate, sweets, fizzy drinks, jams, marmaladesand sugars.

• Choose low-sugar or sugar-free fizzy drinks, mixersand tinned fruits in their own juice. Instead of sugartry artificial sweeteners or ideally try to reduce theamount of sugar you add to food and drinks.

Check out the other risk factors for heart diseaseand stroke. In addition to high cholesterol, theother risks are:• smoking;• high blood pressure;• being overweight;• diabetes;• not being active;• stress that you cannot control;• your family history; and• your age.

If you have high cholesterol plus any of these riskfactors, it is important that you talk to your doctor.


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fruit.


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