High Cholesterol

What is High Cholesterol or Hypercholesterolaemia / Hyperlipidaemia?

Cholesterol is a fatty substance produced naturally in the body and found in your blood. Cholesterol is needed in small amounts to produce hormones and aid in digestion. Cholesterol is not an essential nutrient as the body produces it, however it is present in some foods. If you have been diagnosed with “High Cholesterol” what you might actually have is a high blood level of total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) or triglycerides.

Your total blood cholesterol is made up of two types of cholesterol these are known as Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL) “bad cholesterol” AND High-Density Lipoproteins (HDL) or “good cholesterol”. LDLs can insert themselves into the walls of your arteries where they then oxidise and form plaques which can block (occlude) blood flow to your heart and brain. A significant blockage within the arteries of the heart can lead to health complications such as a heart attack whereas a significant blockage within the arteries of the brain can lead to a stroke. Maintaining lower levels of blood LDL cholesterol are associated with lower likelihoods of having a heart attack or stroke. Approximately 6.1% of all Australians have high cholesterol. As we age our risk of high cholesterol increases; the proportion of people with high cholesterol doubles from age 45-54 years (6.8%) to 55-64 years (14.1%). One in five people aged 65 years and over have high cholesterol.

What causes high cholesterol?

High cholesterol can be classified as primary or secondary. Primary is caused by genetic factors and secondary is related to lifestyle factors or other contributing factors.

Lifestyle factors contributing to the development of high cholesterol include:

Being physically inactive
Eating a diet high in saturated fats and trans fats
Consuming large amounts of alcohol
Smoking

How can Bites Dietitians help?

Our Dietitians can help you work on the lifestyle factors you would like to modify and can help you create a personalised meal plan according to your likes and dislikes that can help you to manage your cholesterol levels.

We can help you achieve a healthy weight if you’d like to do this and change the ratios of foods consumed in your diet so that you don’t have to cut out the things you love but still achieve a reduction in your cholesterol levels long term! Our Dietitians will usually try to tweak your food choices so that you begin to eat more meals that are lower in saturated fat and higher in monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats. They will also try to increase the amount of fibre (especially soluble fibre) in your diet as this will also help to improve your cholesterol levels. Another dietary trick is to consume foods that contain high amounts of plant sterols as the right amount of these will help to reduce your cholesterol levels. There are lots of factors and foods that can help lower your cholesterol levels and it’s important that you and your Dietitian work out a plan that you can stick to or that can be changed periodically to maintain your enjoyment of it as good cholesterol management is a lifelong thing! We have been helping some of our clients to reduce and manage their cholesterol since we opened (over 12 years ago!) and we are pleased to say they are still on track thanks to periodic check ins over the years and having the accountability of checking in with someone who understands how to create a therapeutic diet specifically for them!

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An interesting fact about diet and high cholesterol

Some types of cholesterol are essential for good health, your body needs cholesterol to perform everyday metabolic functions. Having high levels of HDL cholesterol is associated with a decreased risk of heart disease and stroke.

How can Bites Exercise physiologists help?

Participating in at least 2.5 hours of mixed aerobic and resistance training each week can help to lower your cholesterol! Our Exercise Physiologists can provide you with a personalised exercise plan that you can do at home, in a park or in your gym that is suited to your physical activity level, the equipment you have access to and going to help you manage your cholesterol levels long term. If you have not participated in exercise before, working with an Exercise Physiologist is a good place to start as we will do a thorough screening and assessment to make sure we also account for any other risk factors in your program such as high blood pressure that might co-occur with high cholesterol. We will teach you how to perform each exercise with correct form and technique which will ensure you are getting the most out of your workouts! You can check in with us as you need, some people like to come weekly or fortnightly at the beginning until they find their new exercise habits stick and they feel confident performing their exercises and from there we usually recommend seeing us every 4 – 8 weeks or so to progress your program and change up your exercises so that you continue to improve. If you’re really self sufficient, you’ll likely start to push out appointment frequency to quarterly, 6 monthly or annually for exercise testing, expert guidance and/or accountability.

An interesting fact about exercise and high cholesterol

Exercise helps to increase HDL (good) cholesterol levels. It has been found that women that participate in exercise had significantly higher HDL levels than women who did not participate in any exercise.

What improvements can you expect from a tailored dietary and exercise prescription?

You can expect to see specific improvements in:

Cholesterol levels including LDLs, HDLs and triglycerides (It usually takes about 3 months to see significant changes in your cholesterol levels)
Weight loss (if applicable, this can begin within 1 – 2 weeks of following your program!)
Improved other markers of cardiovascular health such as reduced blood pressure, increased cardiovascular fitness
Reduction in the medications you might need to manage your cholesterol levels

Helpful things to bring/remember before your first appointment

Recent blood tests / pathology test results
Referral from your GP or specialist
Any heart or exercise test results you’ve had done with a cardiologist eg. a stress test or ECHO
List of current medications and dosages

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Contact Details

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305/29–31 Lexington Drive, Bella Vista NSW 2153

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0452 458 146

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