Tips to lower blood cholesterol

Remember to…

Ø  Achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.

Ø  Eat less fat, especially saturated fat and trans fat. Use healthier oils in cooking and consume fish regularly at least two serving fish weekly.

Ø  Include wholegrain food, vegetables, fruit and beans as part of a well-balanced diet.

Ø  Be physical active

Together with the following 5 key recommendations, consume:

Ø  3 regular healthy main meals everyday.

Ø  1-2 servings of healthy snacks when necessary.

Ø  At least half of your grains from whole grains.

Ø  Non-fried & santan-free dishes everyday.

Ø  Home cooked foods more often.

Target to achieve

Ø  Healthy body weight: Maintain BMI 18.5 kg/m2-24.9 kg/m2

Ø  Physical activity: Minimum 30 min/day, 5 days/week of moderate intensity PA (i.e. 150 min/week)

Ø  Healthy eating include:

1.       Limit intake of saturated fat

a.       A diet high in saturated fat increases the level of LDL cholesterol in the body.

b.       Animal fat is one of the main sources of saturated fat. So, when you do eat meat or poultry, get the leanest portion. Remove visible fat and poultry skin as well.

c.       Select dairy products that are lower in fat – low fat or non-fat (skimmed) milk, yogurt and cheese are also healthier choices compared to whole or full cream varieties.

d.       Palm-based "vegetable oil" can contain a lot of saturated fat. When eating out, go for dishes prepared with healthier oil and cut down on deep-fried food too.

2.       Minimise trans fat

a.       Trans fat is formed when vegetable oils undergo hydrogenation, which is a commercial process to harden oil for production of fats like shortening and hard margarine. Trans fat raises LDL-cholesterol and reduces HDL-cholesterol in the body.

b.       Food containing trans fat include pastries, cakes, cookies and products made with vegetable shortening and hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils. So, watch out for trans fat in your food. Read food labels and look out for the ingredients used.

3.       Choose healthy oils(MUFA,PUFA)

Replacing saturated fats and trans fats with unsaturated fats helps lower blood cholesterol, especially LDL-cholesterol

a.       The MUFA, Some vegetable oils (e.g. olive oil, canola oil and peanut oil), most nuts (e.g. almonds, cashew nuts and hazelnuts) and avocados are great sources of monounsaturated fats. These oils tend to lower total and LDL cholesterol levels in the body. Use small amounts in cooking.

b.       (PUFA)Omega-3 fat reduces blood clotting in the arteries and protects them from hardening. Fish such as salmon, sardine, longtail shad (terubok)and Spanish mackerel (tenggiri papan) are examples of good sources of omega-3 fat.

c.       (PUFA)Omega-6 fats lowers total and LDL cholesterol levels in the blood. Good sources of omega-6 fat include vegetable oils (e.g. corn oil, soybean oil and sunflower oil) and seeds (e.g. sunflower seeds and sesame seeds).

4.       Reduce cholesterol intake

Food high in cholesterol include organ meats (e.g. liver, kidney and brain) egg yolks, and shellfish. Moderate your intake of organ meats and shellfish, and have no more than 4 egg yolks per week.

5.       Increase intake of wholegrains, fruits and vegetables

Including wholegrain food (e.g. brown rice, wholemeal bread and oats) vegetables, fruit and beans in your diet will help to lower blood cholesterol levels. Many of these food are good sources of soluble fibre, which have the ability to bind cholesterol in the gut, reducing absorption and increasing excretion. Such food are also rich in vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals which all work together to reduce the risk of heart disease.

Last but not lease eat according to Malaysian Healthy Plate ( #QuaterQuaterHalf)

A diet high in fruits, vegetables, wholegrains and fish and low in salt and saturated/trans-fat is linked to a lower CV risk.

The #QuarterQuarterHalf plate recommendation of food portions consist of:

Ø  Quarter of the plate* being carbohydrate – rice, noodles, bread, cereals

Ø  and other cereal products and/or tubers.

Ø  Quarter of the plate* being protein- fish, poultry, meat and/or legumes.

Ø  Half of the plate* being fruits and vegetables.

Ø  Drinking plain water (instead of sugary drinks).

Reference: CPG Primary & Secondary Prevention of CVD 2017

                   CPG Management of Dyslipidaemia 2017 (5th Edition)