by Olwen Anderson

Created on: August 27, 2010

Now that you have a healthy cholesterol level, the way to keep it there is to monitor the four vital aspects: fibre intake, fitness, essential fatty acids and stress management. Here’s how:

1. Focus on fibre: Especially the soluble kind, as its an essential component of a cholesterol management diet. Soluble fibre is so good at soaking up excessive fat in your diet and carrying it out of your body. Your liver dissolves unwanted cholesterol in bile, and soluble fibre from oats, fruit and legumes soaks it up, and binds it securely to be removed from your body. Include two pieces of fruit in your diet each day, plus a serve of oats or legumes, and you’ve got the soluble fibre you need.

2. Maintain your fitness: As soon as you start exercising, your levels of HDL cholesterol start to rise. They’re good cholesterol – actively vacuuming up cholesterol deposits from your artery walls and returning them to your liver for disposal. Here’s an easy way to estimate whether you’re getting enough exercise right now – if you’re happy with the look and feel of your body. If you’re not, you can probably do more – engage a personal trainer to help you establish the right fitness training regime for you.

3. Eat more good oils: The omega-3 oils are woefully deficient in most western diets, because our intake of omega-6 oils from dairy, eggs, grains and farmed meat is so high. Excessive saturated fat has a pro-inflammatory effect in your body, sending your body’s inflammation-regulating activities out of balance. You can help regain the balance by eating seafood almost every day, and choosing game meat rather than farmed. Needless to say, fatty processed meats like sausages, ham and bacon should only make a rare appearance in your diet. You may need a fish oil supplement; but this should only be professionally prescribed. Some medications interact negatively with fish oils, and there is a minimum intake required to get a therapeutic effect. So get advice before you reach for that bottle of supplements.

4. Manage your stress better than you do now: We’re genetically designed to have higher blood fat levels when we’re stressed. So its essential that you find a way to switch off that stress response to maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Meditation, yoga, exercise, time out – it all helps.

Amazingly, when you follow these four basic principles of cholesterol maintenance, other areas of your health will improve too. Follow them, and not only will you keep your cholesterol level within healthy limits, you’ll feel great, and you’ll look great too.

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