Cholesterol Health Check
A Health Check at my doctors' surgery in October 2023 suggested I needed to reduce my cholesterol to reduce risk of heart problems. The table below compares my results with what they should ideally be from here.
| Result | Healthy Level | My Level |
| Total cholesterol | Below 5 mmol/L | 6.0 mmol/L |
| HDL (good cholesterol) | Above 1.0 mmol/L for menor 1.2 mmol/L for women | 2.2 mmol/L |
| Non-HDL (bad cholesterol) | Below 4 mmol/L | 3.8 mmol/L |
The "unhealthy" total cholesterol value above is simply the sum of two "healthy" values so I don't actually give it much credence.
I decided to change my breakfast cereal of choice to overnight oats because oats are known to reduce cholesterol. I had been mixing three different supermarket cereal products that were very tasty but processed and high in sugar.
I found the overnight oats breakfast much better than I expected and actually better than the cereal combo that they replaced. I've published the recipe here. We've modified it to include other cholesterol busting foods like flaxseed.
I had another blood test in February 2024. My HDL (good cholesterol) decreased slightly from 2.2 to 2.0 mmol/L. My Non-HDL (bad cholesterol) decreased from 3.8 to 3.2 mmol/L. Total cholesterol reduced from 6.0 to 5.2 mmol/L for what it's worth.
I'll be having another blood test in September and hope to continue the trend.
In the meantime, here is a link to a Zoe podcast on diets to reduce the non-HDL or LDL (bad) cholesterol.