cholesterol lowering guide

Learn what you can do to lower cholesterol with simple easy hints and tips that fit into your everyday life!

Cholesterol LoweringGuide

24653 Flora Cholesterol Lowering Guide 18.10.13 10.09.indd 1 2013/10/18 3:26 PM

Introduction

Cholesterol plays a vital role in the day-to-day functioning of your body. However, too much cholesterol in the blood can affect your heart health. The good news is that lowering it, and keeping it at the recommended level, is much simpler than you might think.

*Consuming 2 – 2.5g plant sterols can lower cholesterol by up to 15% in 3 weeks/21 days when combined with a healthy diet and lifestyle. High cholesterol is a risk factor in the development of heart disease. As heart disease has multiple risk factors, you may need to improve more than one to reduce your overall risk.

For some people, medication may be needed to lower cholesterol but in many cases cholesterol can be lowered just by making the right diet and lifestyle changes.

A healthy balanced diet is important for everyone and can lower cholesterol by up to 5%. Plant sterols (the active ingredient in Flora pro.activ) are clinically proven to lower cholesterol by up to 15%* as part of a healthy diet and lifestyle.

Making these simple changes can be an effective, fulfilling and enjoyable way of lowering your cholesterol and improving your health…now!

To help you on your cholesterol lowering journey, we’ve created this booklet to give you some top tips and to help you track the changes you are making to your diet and lifestyle.

Enjoy!

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Lowering your cholesterol

What is cholesterol?Eating too much saturated fat is the most common cause of high cholesterol, although there are lots of other factors that can affect blood cholesterol levels.

Cholesterol travels around the bloodstream in special carriers:

l LDL (‘bad’) cholesterol – takes cholesterol from the liver to the body tissues. To maintain a healthy heart, people should try to keep their ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol at a lower, healthy level.

l HDL (‘good’) cholesterol – returns cholesterol back to the liver where it is eliminated. This is the type of cholesterol that helps keep the heart healthy and people should try to maintain it at a high level.

How can I reduce my cholesterol levels?l Reduce your intake of (bad) saturated and

trans fats and replace them with (good) monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

l To increase your ‘good’ cholesterol, keep active and aim to do at least 30 minutes of exercise every day.

l Be the right weight and shape. Carrying too much fat around your middle (‘apple-shape’) is associated with greater heart health

Flora pro.activand plant sterolsPlant sterols in Flora pro.activ products are clinically proven to significantly lower cholesterol. High cholesterol is a risk factor in the development of coronary heart disease.*

Plant sterols naturally occur in small quantities in vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, grain products, fruit and vegetables, but you would need to eat 150 apples, 210 carrots or 425 tomatoes to get the same optimum daily amount of plant sterols as just 25g of Flora pro.activ spread.

A healthy diet is essential when you want to lower your cholesterol and there’s no better food at lowering cholesterol than Flora pro.activ.

problems than if you are carrying excess weight on your hips (‘pear-shape’).

l Incorporate 2-2.5g of plant sterols into your diet each day.

150apples

210carrots

425tomatoes

*As heart disease has multiple risk factors, you may need to improve more than one to reduce your overall risk. Consuming 2-2.5g of sterols per day can lower cholesterol by up to 15% in 3 weeks/21 days when combined with a healthy diet and lifestyle.

CLINICALLYPROVEN


TheFlora pro.activ range

Taking control of your cholesterol may seem to be very challenging, but with the help of Flora pro.activ, it doesn’t have to be hard.

How does Flora pro.activ work?Flora pro.activ is different to other spreads as it contains plant sterols, which are clinically proven to actively lower cholesterol. Plant sterols actively remove cholesterol from the body by partly blocking the absorption of cholesterol in the gut. Cholesterol that isn’t absorbed is then removed from the body, resulting in a lowering of total and bad (LDL) cholesterol levels.

For optimum cholesterol lowering, 2-2.5g of plant sterols need to be consumed daily. By consuming Flora pro.activ spread daily you can reach this level. 25g of Flora pro.activ Spread, can provide you with an optimum amount of plant sterols every day.

How do I add 25g to my diet?Tip 1: to make sure you get the most out of Flora pro.activ, make sure that you use it only for yourself and those in the family with high

cholesterol. It may mean that you need to add your Flora pro.activ right at the end just before you dish up your food. This will help to ensure that you receive the right amount of Flora pro.activ for you.

Tip 2: 5g of Flora pro.activ is equal to 1 level 5ml measuring spoon or ½ a rounded teaspoon (as the image shows).

Flora pro.activ Spreads:Eaten with your meal, it’s all you need to get the recommended amount of plant sterols. Try it on a sandwich or stirred into hot vegetables.

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CLINICALLY

PROVEN


The effects of unhealthy diet and physical inactivity may lead to:l raised blood pressurel raised blood glucosel raised blood lipids (including raised

cholesterol)l overweight and obesity

High Cholesterol: a key risk factor for developing heart disease

Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death globally.

The most important risk factors of heart disease are:l unhealthy dietl physical inactivityl smoking l harmful use of alcohol

behavioural risk factors

underlying causes

Reference: WHO Fact sheet N°317 Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), September 2011 http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs317/en/index.html

Highblood pressure

Being overweightor obese

unhealthy dietphysical inactivity

smoking

globalisation poverty urbanisation stress population ageing

intermediate risk factors

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Food &Shopping

Sometimes it feels like eating healthily is all about eating less. But actively lowering your cholesterol doesn’t have to be about cutting things out of your diet. You may be surprised to know that enjoying your jacket potato or bread with a generous topping of Flora pro.activ is healthier than not using a spread at all. That’s because every time you eat Flora pro.activ its plant sterols work inside your body to filter out the bad cholesterol.

Ten Tips for a cholesterol lowering diet

1. Know your fats – Saturated fats such as those found in butter, full fat dairy and fatty meat should be avoided or at least limited because they can increase your level of bad cholesterol. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats are healthier and can be found in foods such as nuts, seeds, avocado, soft spreads and oily fish.

2. Choose low fat dairy foods – fat free or low fat milk, low fat yoghurt and reduced fat cheese. Use low fat yoghurt instead of cream when cooking or making desserts.

3. Opt for fish and poultry over fatty meat products, which can be high in unhealthy fats. Try substituting some meat with beans or lentils.

4. Include oily fish, such as pilchards, salmon, trout or herring, that’s high in heart healthy Omegas, once or twice a week.

5. Get plenty of fibre in your diet – swap white bread and pasta for brown and wholegrain varieties. Oats, vegetables, fruits and pulses such as beans and lentils are also great sources of fibre.

6. Get your five-a-day – eat a mix of fruit and vegetables to get the vitamins, minerals and fibre you need. The more colourful your meals are, the more likely you are to be getting the nutrients you need.

7. Include plant sterols – these are found at low levels in everyday foods like fruits, vegetables and cereals. But to get a significant cholesterol lowering effect, you need to eat foods enriched with plant sterols like Flora pro.activ.

8. Try to use seed or nut oils instead of butter – oils from seeds and nuts are rich in ‘healthy’ fats. Switch from butter to a good quality margarine, such as Flora pro.activ, which is made from these fats.

9. Snack on nuts and seeds instead of cakes and biscuits. Why not make up your own mix of seeds, nuts and dried fruit for healthy snacking at your fingertips?

10. Eat no more than five grams of salt a day. Experiment with herbs and spices instead and avoid salty snacks like crisps, which are also usually high in bad fats which can raise your cholesterol.


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Exerciseand lifestyle

Everyday exerciseTry to do 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day. You can break it into three 10-minute sessions throughout the day if you like. Start with what you can and build your way up, you’ll be surprised by how responsive your body is!

Even everyday activities can be turned into moderate exercise.Put in extra energy to get your heart-rate going: l Walking l Gardening l House work l Washing the car

The more active you are the better. Quick tricks that really help: l Take the stairs instead of the escalator l Get off the bus a stop early and walk l Park the car further from where you’re going l Walk briskly instead of strolling

There are also simple changes you can make to your lifestyle: l Avoid smoking l Maintain a healthy weight and shape l If you drink alcohol, do it in moderation l Learn to control stress and relax


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Dietary changes and statins, working together

Statins and CholesterolStatins are the most commonly prescribed medication for high cholesterol. Statins work by inhibiting the production of cholesterol.

The lower the betterWhen it comes to LDL cholesterol, you want to reduce your level as much as possible for a healthy heart.

What you may not realise is that you can enjoy further LDL cholesterol reductions on top of statins by moving to a healthier diet and by incorporating products which contain plant sterols into your diet.

In fact, combining your statins with a move to a healthy diet and lifestyle (and plant sterol enriched foods) can lower LDL-cholesterol by up to 40% as opposed to 25% average for Statins alone.

Flora pro.activ and statins – working togetherIf you are taking cholesterol lowering medication you can include plant sterol enriched foods like Flora pro.activ in your diet.

Plant sterols provide additional cholesterol lowering benefits on top of cholesterol lowering medication – because they work in a different way, actively removing cholesterol from the body by partly blocking the absorption of cholesterol in the gut. Combining your medication with plant sterol enriched foods and a move to a healthy diet will maximise your cholesterol lowering.

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Chen et al, Lipids 2009; Cleghorn et al, EJCN 2003, Jones et al, AJCN 1999;Katan et al, Mayo Clin Proc 2003; Edwards & Moore, BMC Family Practice 2003

Cholesterol-lowering effect of phytosterolsis additive to healthy diet & statins

healthy diet* healthy diet*

plant sterol-enriched foods**

healthy diet*

Statintreatment

plant sterol-enriched foods**

*low in saturated fat and cholesterol**2-3 g/day of plant sterols in the form of enriched foods


Now keep it lowIf you’ve been following the tips in this booklet, not only have you made a positive change to your cholesterol level but hopefully you’re also feeling a bit fitter and healthier overall.

Sticking to change can be hard but keep at it…don’t worry if you have the occasional slip – it happens to us all, and it’s no reason to give up your good habits entirely. The main thing is that most days you are sticking to your new healthy diet and lifestyle.

Make sure you go back to your health care professional to get your cholesterol rechecked -

and understand what difference your hard work has made to your cholesterol level.

Have a conversation about the changes you’ve made and agree how you will stick to these long term.

For cholesterol lowering hints, tips and recipes and to see how hundreds of people like you have lowered their cholesterol with Florapro.activ, visit www.florastrongheart.co.za

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NOTES

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Track your Progress

Heart (2005) Joint British Societies’ Guidelines on the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Clinical Practice.Published by the BMU, London 2005

Using the advice in this booklet and guidance from your health care professional set some specific goals on the changes you will make to your diet & lifestyle to lower your cholesterol.

Top Tip! Keep your goals realistic and look for small

changes you can incorporate into your everyday life – setting goals which are too stretching can make them difficult to stick

to, so strike a balance.

My Cholesterol Levels My Results Target

Dates

Total Cholesterol Less than 5.0 mmol/l

LDL Cholesterol Less than 3.0 mmol/l

My goals

Exercise (e.g. start swimming once a week and walking briskly for 30 minutes every other day)

Eat less of (e.g. only have chocolate at weekends, not every day)

Eat more of (e.g. have oily fish twice a week and get my 5 a day of fruit and vegetables)

My key food swaps (e.g. use Flora pro.activ spread and switch from cheese to chicken salad sandwiches at lunchtime)


cholesterol lowering guide

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