Cholesterol is a fatty substance found in our blood we all have it and we all
need normal amounts of it because our cells use it however having a high
amount of cholesterol can put as an increased risk of heart and vascular
diseases such as heart attacks such as strokes and vascular dementia so in this
week's video we're looking at natural ways to help reduce and prevent your
cholesterol from becoming high in the first place so what are we waiting for
let's do this so let's start off with the basics fats and cholesterol so with
fats we have saturated fats which increase our cholesterol levels and we
also have unsaturated fats which can actually help reduce our cholesterol
levels now we already know that most people in the UK eat far too many
saturated fat so what foods contain high saturated fats you might be thinking
well this is quite long such as things like butter sausages fatty cuts of meats
creams cheese biscuits cakes and many many more
so the first big change that we actually need to make is replace those who have
got high amounts of saturated fat with foods with unsaturated fats so what are
these for example oily fish these include things like mackerel and salmon
as well as nuts avocados and many more what I will do is I will leave a full
list in the description below for you foods of high saturated fats and foods
of unsaturated fats so you can have a look at them and see which ones you're
doing right which ones you're doing wrong next up we have trans fats ever
heard of them if you have great if not they're found
naturally in small amounts in certain foods such as dairy and meat but there's
also another thing called artificial trans fats and these are found in
hydrogenated fats which are in processed foods like biscuits and cakes so these
trans fats can actually increase our bad cholesterol now the good news is that in
the UK many manufacturers and supermarkets have now started to reduce
the amount of trans fats that are used in these kinds of processed foods but
you should still always read the label and check for trans fats hydrogenated
fats or any oils and try and avoid these products which moves us on nicely to tip
number three you need to reduce your total fat intake not only is it going to
reduce your cholesterol levels but it can also reduce your risk of heart
disease so it's a win-win so one of the easiest ways to help reduce your fat
intake is the way that you cook your food the bad way to cook your food is
roasting and frying that's going to give you a high fat content in your food now
at the lowest way and the healthiest way to do so is by grilling poaching
steaming and even microwaving all of these are much healthier ways to cook
than roasting and frying and tip number four which can really help is reducing
your total fat intake so if you do like to eat things like meat for example pick
the leaner cuts of meats to eat or if you do like to eat dairy products or spreads
instead of the full fat version pick the low fat version or if you do really want
to have the full fat version consider reducing your portion size have a
smaller amount now the NHS have a really useful article
all about this and I highly recommend you read it it's all about different fats
how much fats to have what to look out for on labels so it's a really
useful article I will leave a link in the description below for you and once
again I highly recommend you read it ok how are you getting on I hope it's not
an information overload and you finding this information helpful and if you are
finding it helpful then hit that like button right now to show your
appreciation now let's move on to fiber and cholesterol ok
we know that fiber eating plenty of fiber can help reduce your risk of heart
disease and also certain foods that are high in fiber can actually help reduce
your cholesterol levels so tip number 5 if your fiber uptake is currently low
you need to try and increase it and if you're an adult you need to be aiming
for at least 30 grams of fiber per day so now you're probably thinking Abraham
what foods are high in fiber but how do I increase it well it's very easy foods
that are high in fiber fruits and vegetables very high in fiber wholemeal
bread nuts oats and many more what I will do is that leave a full list in the
description below to everyone to read also please don't forget your 5 a day of
fruits and vegetables now apart from the diet and active lifestyle can also help
lower your cholesterol levels so you need to be exercising regularly so as an
adult you need to be doing 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week
or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise per week and that was tip
number 6 so there you have it these are my tips to help lower your cholesterol
naturally but a common question I do get asked by patients is what about these
cholesterol lowering products that are on the market such as spreads and
yogurts and things like that and my answer for that is if your healthcare
professional has told you the cholesterol is slightly high and they've
asked you to change diet and lifestyle things to try and
reduce your cholesterol levels then there's no need for you to buy these
products as long as you're making these dietary changes as long as you're
changing your lifestyle and following the tips are in this video as well
there's no need for you to buy them products and as a health care
professional I 100% definitely do not think that these products are a suitable
substitute for all the advice that we spoke about today so by taking this
product it's not a substitute for you not to change your diet it's not a
substitute for you not to change your lifestyle by doing more exercise
so please just follow the tips in these videos and reap the rewards and reap the
benefits I really hope my tips helped you in this week's video you are now a
cholesterol Pro you know what to do please spread the word tell your friends
tell your family tell your loved ones tell everyone because you are now a
cholesterol Pro always remember you're awesome and I'll see you next week
fruit and vegetables high in fiber wholemeal bread high in fiber nuts oats
wholemeal bread I think I've already said wholemeal bread also incorporating
a healthy lifestyle into your life healthy lifestyle it's your life isn't
when you say a lifestyle yeah incorporate a healthy lifestyle hey guys
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