It is a scientifically proven - and well publicised - fact that eating well significantly lowers your risk of developing serious diseases. This is especially true of heart disease. If there is a history of heart problems in your family or if you are worried your lifestyle may have put you at increased risk, then it is never too late to make changes to your diet that will significantly improve your health.

If you want to lower your cholesterol levels, you first need to know which foods you should eat in moderation. Fat is essential to the body, but modern eating habits mean people are getting far more trans fat and saturated fat than is healthy. A good diet should be made up of less than 7 percent of these fats. They are found mainly in animal sourced products (meat and dairy). You should also aim for lower levels of hydrogenated fat, so should check the ingredients on your margarine to choose the healthiest option and then use this for cooking rather than butter, which is a big culprit in high cholesterol. As a general rule, processed convenience foods are worse for cholesterol levels so aim to cook from scratch most nights of the week.

There are foods which can lower your cholesterol, so you should aim to include more of these in your diet. Start your day with an oat based cereal as it is an easy way to get more soluble fibre, which can reduce your 'bad' cholesterol levels by approximately 5 percent. You can also increase your intake of soluble fibre by eating certain fruits and vegetables such as prunes, pears, apples, pulses and brussell sprouts.

If your diet is fairly balanced and sensible, you can reduce your cholesterol levels further through eating more polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. These are unsaturated fats and come mostly from plant, rather than animal, sources. Try using olive oil rather than vegetable oil and snacking on almonds and walnuts. Do bear in mind though, nuts are very calorific so you should be careful how much you eat and limit it to less than a handful.

If you are concerned about your cholesterol levels, visit your family doctor. They may be able to test how high your cholesterol is, and can certainly give you further advice about how to improve your lifestyle and eating habits to reduce it and make your heart healthier.



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