Eat, drink and be merry! A traditional Christmas feast can help lower LDL 'bad' cholesterol

Dec. 13, 2024 - PRLog -- This year, you can tuck into your Christmas dinner without worrying about cholesterol, reveals a leading blood testing expert. New research into cholesterol levels has led to a rethink about which food and drink could be harmful, and that means a full roast turkey meal, with all the trimmings, is back on the table.

Dr Avinash Hari Narayanan (MBChB), Clinical Lead at London Medical Laboratory, says: 'This Christmas, it's time to reassess cholesterol levels and welcome back some previously frowned-on foods to our menu.

The turkey: 'There are plenty of foods popular during the festive season that can help lower your LDL "bad" cholesterol levels, which improves your HDL to LDL ratio. That's because research shows that fatty fish, chicken breast and turkey are good natural sources of niacin. Niacin is also known as vitamin B3. It can help lower cholesterol and other fats in your blood. Niacin helps raise HDL "good" cholesterol and lowers LDL.

The trimmings: 'An antioxidant-rich diet raises HDL levels. High antioxidant foods include beets, purple cabbage, kale, spinach and that Christmas staple, Brussels sprouts. Of course, no Christmas meal would be complete without roast potatoes. The good news is that the spud has zero fat and cholesterol and it is low in sodium. It's also rich in antioxidants and vitamins that help our body function properly. Using unsaturated cooking oils such as olive oil is a healthier option. So, too, are low-fat sunflower cooking sprays and rapeseed oil. Rapeseed oil is particularly high in sterols, plant chemicals that actually stop some cholesterol from being absorbed.

Wine: 'A paper published in the journal Molecules (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6804046/) reveals that several studies show evidence that light–moderate wine consumption is associated with a higher level of HDL good cholesterol. It also helps prevent artery damage from high levels of LDL bad cholesterol. Red wine may also improve the function of cells lining the blood vessels, keeping blood circulation flowing smoothly. The paper concludes that "a moderate intake of red wine may produce cardioprotective effects".

'Obviously, there's a catch! The key word when talking about the consumption of food and wine over the holidays is "moderation". If people are concerned about their cholesterol levels as we approach Christmas, it's best to get them checked. London Medical Laboratory's Cholesterol Lipid Profile test (https://www.londonmedicallaboratory.com/product/cholester...) measures total cholesterol, LDL HDL, non-HDL (a newly adopted, more accurate measure) and other key markers. It can be taken at home through the post, or at one of the many drop-in clinics that offer these tests across London and nationwide in over 120 selected pharmacies and health stores. For full details, see: https://www.londonmedicallaboratory.com/product/cholesterol-profile