Ageproof Your Body (Part 1)

‘Breathing slowly for 30 minutes a day lowers blood pressure by an average of three points in a week.’

EAT RIGHT TO REDUCE YOUR CHOLESTEROL

“Our cholosterol levels rise as we age, building up by day,” says Shafeeque Mohammed. “Some of it comes from foods – particularly fatty foods – in our diet,” he explains. As a result, high cholesterol affects 4,5 million South Africans after the age of 50.

IF YOU DO NOTHING ELSE Cut out saturated and trans fats, and replace them with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Secondly, eat oily fish twice a week or take fish oil supplements. This is the richest source of omega-3 fats, which can help to lower blood triglyceride levels, prevent the blood from clotting and regulate the heart rhytym. Oily fish include salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines, pilchards, kipper, eel and fresh tuna.


THE FOOD THAT HELPS Nuts. Virtually every nut seems to have cholosterol-lowering abilities, with the latest studies (on macadamias) revealling that a daily 40g serving cuts cholesterol by %10 in just five weeks. It’s believed that that’s down to their healthy fat levels. High levels of monounsaturated fat (which nust contain) are consistently linked with lower cholesterol. Nuts also contain fibre, which helps to remove fat from the body.

YOUR EXERCISE PRESCRIPTION Grab 10-minute bursts of walking whenever you can. Cholesterol comes in two types – “bad” LDL cholesterol, the type that gunks up your arteries, and “good” HDL cholesterol, which actually shuttless the other stuff out of your system. Both can be created by your body, but LDL also tends to come from saturated fat. Exercise raises HDL. In fact, every 10 minutes you work out raises your levels by 1,4mg, and every mg cuts your heart disease risk by 3%.

*HOT OFF THE PRESS A supplement called red rice extract has been shown to lower cholesterol dramatically. The supplement used in the study was not the same as those currently available in health shops, but it will be the subject of further research.