How can you lower your bad cholesterol

1. What foods will make my high cholesterol worse?

If you have high cholesterol, it’s most important to eat less saturated fat. Foods that are high in saturated fats are things like fatty and processed meat, pies and pastry, butter, cream, and coconut oil.

Some foods contain dietary cholesterol but surprisingly they don’t make a big difference to the cholesterol in your blood. These are foods like eggs, some shellfish like prawns and crab and offal such as liver, liver pate and kidney. They are low in saturated fat and so are fine to eat as part of a healthy diet. 

Find out more about cholesterol and eggs

2. What foods will lower my cholesterol?

The best way to eat a better diet is to swap your saturated fats with foods that are high in unsaturated fat like vegetable oils (sunflower, olive and rapeseed oil), nuts seeds and avocado and oily fish.  

A few small swaps can make a big difference to your cholesterol level. Many people say they don’t notice the difference. Try:

• swapping butter to vegetable oil spreads like sunflower, olive or rapeseed oil spreads
• switching whole milk to skimmed milk
• using natural yogurt instead of sour cream or double cream
• replacing regular mince with leaner, lower fat options
• swapping red or processed meat for fish, turkey or chicken without the skin, or plant-based proteins such as lentils, soya or Quorn
• switch your crisps for unsalted nuts
• having reduced fat cheese instead of regular cheese
• ordering less takeaways. Instead try our healthy comfort foods for delicious heart-healthy options.

Eat fibre to lower cholesterol

Eating high-fibre food can also help to lower your cholesterol. Fibre helps reduce the amount of cholesterol that is absorbed into the blood stream from your intestine.

• Make sure you get at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day as these contain fibre along with other nutrients
• Eat plenty of other high fibre foods like pulses (such as lentils, beans and chickpeas) oats and seeds.
• Choose more wholegrain foods when you can, such as brown or granary bread over white.

Easy ways to eat more fibre

3. Can exercise help to lower cholesterol?

Yes it can. Getting your blood pumping by doing exercise will reduce your cholesterol. Being active helps your body move the bad cholesterol to your liver where it can be removed out of your system. 

You don’t have to join a gym or go on long runs if you don’t enjoy it, just look for chances to move more every day. Many people find that being active improves their mood so they make healthier food choices. You could try:

• taking the stairs instead of the lift
• a brisk walk instead of a slow walk
• doing two-minute bursts of jumping jacks several times a day
• yoga or pilates if you can’t get out 
• our exercises to do if you’re stuck at home.

4. Will stopping smoking lower my cholesterol?

If you're a smoker you might already know you should stop if you have high cholesterol. Smoking increases ‘bad cholesterol’ and lowers ‘good cholesterol’, increasing your risk of heart attacks and stroke. 

• If you’re struggling to stop smoking, talking to your GP is a great first step, or if you’re in England you can call the NHS Stop Smoking Service on 0300 123 1044.
• There are also free services in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

These services will be able to give you useful advice on how to deal with cravings and gradually stop smoking.

Find out more about what smoking does to your body.

5. Should I stop drinking if I have high cholesterol? 

Cutting down on alcohol will help your liver to work better at removing bad cholesterol. It may also improve your heart health in other ways by helping you lose weight and lower your blood pressure.

Our top tips for drinking alcohol are to:

• drink less than 14 units of alcohol a week
• have a few days each week where you don’t drink at all
• avoid binge drinking by drinking half what you usually would
• order a small glass of wine or half a pint of beer.

Read more of our advice on alcohol.

By making some of these small changes you should see your cholesterol levels go down.

Reduce your cholesterol

Our cholesterol hub answers all your questions about cholesterol including what it is, when to get checks and more about statins.    

More about cholesterol

If you have high cholesterol it’s a good idea to get your cholesterol levels tested at least once a year to track your progress. A check every 5 years is advised if your cholesterol levels are borderline or normal.

Have a look at our short two minute video to see how Sulakhan successfully lowered his cholesterol: