Cholesterol Results

I got my fasting blood test results today from my GP's surgery.
Total HDL Cholesterol was 5.1 mmol/L, Total Serum Cholesterol was 6.0 mmol/L
My G.P.'s comment was that this was "much improved" and he doesn't want to see me. So I'm statin-free from another year.
HDL cholesterol is recorded in order to allow calculation of the 10-year Coronary Heart Disease risk (along with smoking status, age, sex and Blood Pressure). It is also used to work out the chance of getting Primary Cardiovascular Disease - something like stroke or angina rather than just CHD.
The helpful staff at the surgery wouldn't give me the other details so I can't calculate my LDL Cholesterol exactly. (LDL is the "bad" cholesterol).

LDL-cholesterol = (Total cholesterol) - (HDL-cholesterol) - (plasma Triglycerides / 2.2). So if my plasma Triglycerides were 0 my LDL cholesterol would be 0.9. This seems to give me a 2% chance of developing some form of Primary Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) over the next 10 years. My "target" cholesterol is 4.0 still though so I have a way to go.

I have been taking plant sterol capsules for the past 3 months. These have been shown to give a 12.4% reduction in LDL cholesterol - which is pretty much what I have seen. They are also especially effective where there is familiy history of high cholesterol (familial hypercholesterolaemia). However, there are no reliable clinical trials hence the guidelines from the government are that "NICE do not recommend that these are prescribed routinely for the primary prevention of CVD. Although sterols and stanols have been shown to reduce total cholesterol, further research is required to demonstrate whether this translates into a reduction in CVD." They are also SUPPOSED to help prevent some forms of cancer, including bowel and breast cancer. At £7.00 for a month's capsules I think its worth it.

What I've been doing today

I went to get a blood sample taken for my cholesterol test. It is supposed to be below 5mmol/l according to my GP. However it appears that my family suffer from familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH). So that means I don't have much chance of bringing it down.
I've been on a low fat/low cholesterol diet for 6 months and have increased my exercise levels. This has had a good effect on my weight: I've lost 13 pounds so far since January. However living on oats and carrots may not be giving me the stamina of a racehorse on its own.

Basically I've been eating a diet low in cholesterol and fat and rich in fruits (apples), vegetables (carrots), lean meat, fish and olive oil. Oats are supposed to remove LDL (bad) cholesterol from the system so I eat Oatibix or Optivita for breakfast and take plant sterols in capsules. The "big" Oatibix taste awful unless you cover them with sugar - which sort of defeats the object. However the mini ones with sultanas and apple are nice (bitesize). They don't go soggy so fast either. Optivita is quite nice too. Again I prefer the version with raisins to the "berry" one. The berries go all soggy and mushy in the bowl. I buy the plant sterols online - my sister in law recommended a company. I used to drink the yoghurt drinks with them in, but found I could buy a month's supply of capsules for £8 when this would get me a week's yoghurts.

I've managed the moderate consumption of red wine with no problem. This is supposed to reduce the damaging effects of LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and increases HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol).

It is very important to stop smoking if you have high cholesterol or a risk of it. Smoking significantly increases the risk of a serious heart condition in patients with very high cholesterol levels. Luckily I don't smoke anyway, so this was an easy one.

An active lifestyle and physical exercise strengthen the heart and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. I try to walk every day or do some other physical exercise.

The phlebotomist had to have three goes at drawing blood because muggins here had forgotten to drink loads of water before going to the surgery. She managed to get some out of my arm just above the wrist in the end though. The results are due on Monday or Tuesday.

I downloaded the new iTunes before I left for the surgery and left this updating the new "genius" feature while I was out. This seems to work just fine and probably better than the Nutsie side bar that I had been using to spice up my music. There is a new version of Nutsie too, so I've downloaded that too.

I walked to the surgery and back, so that's 4 miles today according to the odometer on my phone. Nice stroll through the Hogmoor Enclosure, cobwebs on the bushes looking very nice. I should have brought a camera with me.

Back home again, nice and snug with the rain hammering down now. A couple of companies are looking interested in seeing me for interview as well so that's all good news.