Thousands of people in Ireland suffer from high cholesterol - but there is a simple and cheap breakfast food that could help people lower their cholesterol.
There are two main types of cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) which is known as ‘good’ cholesterol and low density lipoproteins (LDL) which is known as ‘bad’ cholesterol - because it sticks to the artery walls - making them narrow.
Over a quarter of Irish adults aged 50 and over have high cholesterol levels, when they have high levels of LDL, putting them at risk of heart disease and stroke.
For healthy cholesterol levels, The Irish Heart Foundation recommends eating more fruit and vegetables, and less fatty food.
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However, cardiovascular expert, Doctor Jamie Brosch of the Goodbody Clinic, told Express.co.uk that one of the ways to help lower your cholesterol levels is by eating a bowl of porridge every morning.
He said that one particular nutrient called ‘beta-glucan’, that is found in porridge oats, has been found to reduce the levels of bad cholesterol in our body.
Beta-glucans are types of fibres that have been found to reduce the levels of LDL cholesterol without cutting the levels of HDL cholesterol - which are needed by the body.
A dose of around 3g of beta-glucan per day - found in a serving of porridge - can reduce the ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol by 5% to 10% in a person with normal or high cholesterol levels.
Doctor Brosch said: “Include oats in your diet which are rich in a type of fibre called beta-glucan. Eating a 30g bowl of porridge a day will give you enough beta-glucan to help lower cholesterol.”
In Tesco, 1kg of Irish porridge oats costs just 73c and contains around 25 servings - working out at less than 3c per bowl.
What is high cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a type of fat found in your blood. Cholesterol is made in the body mainly by the liver.
You need a certain amount of cholesterol for all your body cells and to produce important hormones.
However, if there is too much cholesterol in your blood, it sticks to your artery walls to form atheroma or plaque.
Having high cholesterol is one of the risk factors which increase your chances of getting heart disease and stroke.
As a result of this build-up on the artery walls, your arteries become narrowed. This process is called the hardening of the arteries.
If an artery supplying the heart muscle becomes blocked completely, the heart muscle becomes damaged. This is known as a heart attack.
If an artery to the brain is completely blocked, it damages the brain. This is called a stroke.
How to prevent high cholesterol
In order to prevent your cholesterol levels rising too high, you should have regular blood pressure and cholesterol checks with your doctor as well as:
- Eat more fruit and vegetables and wholegrain foods
- Eat less fatty foods
- Eat fish twice a week including oily fish
- If you smoke, try to stop
- Be a healthy weight
- Be more physically active for at least 30 minutes 5 days a week
- Drink less alcohol
- Learn to relax, de-stress – take time out for yourself.
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