Understanding Cholesterol

Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a type of fat in your blood. It is produced by your liver but also comes from the foods you eat. Some cholesterol is required to aid in the development of cells, hormones production, and fat digestion.

High cholesterol
You may have been told by your health professional that you have high cholesterol (also known as hyperlipidaemia). Dyslipidaemia is another term that your health professional may use which is when your cholesterol is outside of the normal range. High cholesterol is when there is too much “bad” (LDL) cholesterol in the blood and too little good cholesterol in the blood. Raised LDL causes plaque to build up in your arteries. If this plaque builds up too much and breaks off, it can cause a stroke or a heart attack.

What's normal?
There isn’t a normal or ideal cholesterol level that applies to everyone. If you are at a high risk of a stroke or heart attack, you should aim to have an LDL cholesterol level of less than 1.8 mmol/L.

Lowering Cholesterol

There are lots of ways you can lower cholesterol naturally, alongside any medication you’ve been given by your doctor. It’s important to continue to take prescribed medications (i.e. statins), especially if you have a strong family history of high cholesterol.

1. Choosing healthy fats in place of saturated fat

Saturated fat is found in fatty meats and processed foods such as sausages, deli meats, deep-fried foods, baked goods, creams, and butter.

2. Increasing soluble fibre intake

Soluble fibre is found in vegetables (broccoli, carrots, potatoes, kumara), oats, legumes (beans and lentils), and fruit (apples, pear, citrus, berry, and stone fruit).

3. Reducing refined sugars

Refined sugars are found in sweets, baked goods, white bread and soft drinks.

4. Increase physical activity

Building in regular movement and exercise can help to reduce blood cholesterol – and makes you feel good too. At least 2.5 hours (150 minutes) of moderate-intensity* physical activity is recommended each week.

5. Cut down or cut out alcohol

Drinking too much alcohol, particularly heavy drinking (binge drinking), can increase your LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. So drinking less can help to lower your cholesterol.

6. Having too much body fat, especially around the middle

Eating in a balanced way will help with maintaining a healthy weight, overall reducing your LDL cholesterol levels.

How Fresh Start can help

If you have high cholesterol Fresh Start can help you to improve the quality of your diet. Fresh Start meals are based around whole foods and are packed full of ingredients that can help to lower cholesterol including vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds and heart-healthy fats like oily fish, avocado and olives. Meals are also calorie-controlled, meaning they can help with moderating food intake and aiding in weight management.

Nutritional Info

When selecting your meals for the week, we provide the saturated fat per serve so that you can choose options that are lower in saturated fat too.

Nutritional Info

When selecting your meals for the week, we provide the saturated fat per serve so that you can choose options that are lower in saturated fat too.

Vegetarian Recipes

Choose some vegetarian meals to increase the amount of plant foods in your diet.

Vegetarian Recipes

Choose some vegetarian meals to increase the amount of plant foods in your diet.

Healthy Fats

Choose meals that hero heart-healthy fat sources such as oily fish (salmon), avocado, nuts and seeds.

Healthy Fats

Choose meals that hero heart-healthy fat sources such as oily fish (salmon), avocado, nuts and seeds.

Recipes to Support

Look out for our Mediterranean, Heart-healthy and calorie-controlled (under 450 kcal) meals.

Recipes to Support

Look out for our Mediterranean, Heart-healthy and calorie-controlled (under 450 kcal) meals.

Click here to see the Fresh Start menu and set your preferences

Our favourite swaps

Here are a few of our favourite swaps to help you to include foods that can help to lower your cholesterol:

Choose pantry staples based around healthy fats when cooking Fresh Start meals. Use olive oil instead of butter or coconut oil.
Use trim (green top) or reduced fat (light blue top) milk instead of standard milk
Pick low or reduced-fat dairy products such as edam cheese and low-fat yoghurts
Eat lean fresh meats rather than sausages or deli eats
Choose oats for breakfast rather than refined breakfast cereals
Swap half the mince in your meal for beans or lentils
Pick unsalted nuts instead of chips as a snack

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between LDL and HDL cholesterol?

LDL cholesterol is referred to as the ‘bad’ cholesterol as this builds up as plaque in your arteries causing a stroke or heart attack if it breaks off. HDL cholesterol is referred to as the ‘good’ cholesterol as it takes the LDL cholesterol out of your arteries, to the liver, where it is broken down and used by the body.

Are eggs high in cholesterol?

Egg yolk is high in dietary cholesterol, which is different to blood cholesterol. Dietary cholesterol only slightly increases your blood cholesterol. Eggs are a nutritious whole food that can be part of a balanced diet for the general population. For those at increased risk of heart disease, you can consume up to six eggs per week paired alongside wholefoods like vegetables and wholegrains.

Is all fat bad?

No. There are different types of fat: saturated fat, trans fat and unsaturated fat (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated). Try to limit foods containing saturated and trans fat. Saturated fat increases LDL cholesterol and is found in processed foods. Trans fat lowers HDL cholesterol and increases LDL cholesterol, it is found in dairy fat, fried foods and baked goods. Foods containing monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat should be increased. Monounsaturated fat increases HDL cholesterol levels and is found in foods such as olive oil, nuts and avocado. Polyunsaturated fats lowers LDL cholesterol and is found in foods such as walnuts, flaxseeds, canola oil, sesame and sunflower seeds.

Will a plant sterol enriched margarine help?

Plant sterols (phytosterols) are naturally found in plant foods. They can slightly block LDL cholesterol absorption, lowering blood cholesterol. Evidence suggests that consuming 2g of plant sterols per day can lower LDL cholesterol alongside a healthy, low saturated fat diet. Plant sterols are added into plant sterol enriched margarine; this is permitted by The Australian New Zealand Food Code. Plant sterol enriched margarine needs to be consumed regularly to be effective; your overall diet is the most important for the management of high cholesterol.

References: 1. https://www.hri.org.nz/health/learn/risk-factors/high-cholesterol 2. https://www.heartfoundation.org.nz/wellbeing/managing-risk/managing-high-cholesterol 3. https://www.heartfoundation.org.nz/wellbeing/managing-risk/managing-high-cholesterol#lower 4. https://nutritionfoundation.org.nz/cholesterol/ 5. https://nutritionfoundation.org.nz/nutrition-facts/nutrients/fat/ 6. https://www.heartfoundation.org.nz/wellbeing/healthy-eating/nutrition-facts/eggs-and-cholesterol 7. https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/sites/default/files/publications/Documents/EU%20health%20claims%20reviews/Systematic%20review%20phytosterols%20and%20cholesterol.pdf 8. https://www.heartfoundation.org.nz/wellbeing/managing-risk/managing-high-cholesterol/7-foods-that-may-lower-your-cholesterol