Research shows 80% of cardiovascular disease may be caused by an unhealthy lifestyle. Simple lifestyle changes, like eating more healthily, taking more exercise, giving up smoking and relaxing more can help to keep your heart healthy. A cholesterol lowering diet can be part of this.
Plant sterols are clinically proven to lower bad (LDL) cholesterol. Other foods that can help lower cholesterol include oats (beta-glucan) and soya protein. Of course you can eat all of these, but if there’s one specific food to include, it’s Flora pro.activ, as no other food lowers cholesterol more.
If you’re worried about your cholesterol or anything to do with your heart health you should consult your GP, practice nurse or pharmacist.
As heart disease has multiple risk factors you may need to improve more than on to reduce your overall risk.
A healthy lifestyle
Eat plant sterols
Plant sterols (and stanols) are generally accepted by scientific experts? to be the most effective active food ingredient for lowering cholesterol. Just 2 to 2.5g of plant sterols each day (the amount in three portions of Flora pro.activ foods or a single mini drink can lower LDL cholesterol by 10% and the effect can increase to 15% when moving to a healthy diet and lifestyle.
You can find out more about these foods on our plant sterols page.
Exercise
Walk, cycle, swim, jump up and down, play games, dance! Even housework counts. Start with what you can manage and work up to about half an hour on most days of the week.
Eat good fats not bad fats
Eat more polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, and fewer saturated and trans fats. It’s easy to swap good fats for bad ones: you can enjoy Flora pro.activ spread instead of butter, vegetable oil instead of lard, chicken or fish instead of fatty meat and skimmed, 1% semi-skimmed or soya milk instead of whole milk. Plus try to eat oily fish once a week.
But remember that all fats contain calories, so it’s important to limit the total amount you consume to maintain a healthy weight.
Eat a variety of foods
Include whole grains, fruit, vegetables, and pulses. Variety is the key to a balanced diet.
Reduce stress
Try to get enough sleep a night and leave yourself ten minutes or so to sit and do nothing at all every day. Smoking and drinking heavily might seem relaxing, but they’re bad for your heart and the rest of your body.
Is it enough just to stop eating bad fats?
Merely eating fewer saturated fats has been shown to lower cholesterol. However, studies have also shown that replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats is even more effective at lowering cholesterol. This is good news, as choosing the right fat can add flavour and interest to your food, as well as being good for your heart health.
Will cholesterol-free foods do me good?
There is confusion between cholesterol in food and cholesterol in the blood. o Foods labelled ‘no dietary cholesterol’ or ‘cholesterol-free’ do not actively lower LDL cholesterol. To help do this, avoid food high in ‘bad’ saturated fat and include foods with an active ingredient like plant sterols.
Can’t I just eat Flora pro.activ and not make any other changes?
It’s not that easy! Flora pro.activ is an important part of a healthy diet and lifestyle, not a substitute for it. All the foods that lower cholesterol are healthy in other ways – for example, porridge is high in fibre, while soya provides protein. There’s no single solution to keeping well, so always aim to eat a balanced diet and keep active.
