{"id":9259,"date":"2026-05-12T00:12:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T00:12:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/?p=9259"},"modified":"2026-05-12T00:12:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T00:12:41","slug":"how-i-reversed-my-high-cholesterol-with-a-single-breakfast-swap-now-i-dont-need-to-take-statins-any-more-thanks-to-this-simple-daily-recipe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/?p=9259","title":{"rendered":"How I REVERSED my high cholesterol with a single breakfast swap. Now I don’t need to take statins any more thanks to this simple daily recipe"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

When a recent blood test revealed that my cholesterol was raised, I was taken aback. What, me? I\u2019m a gym bunny, a slim three-times-a-week yoga fan, who feasts on avocado daily as part of my Mediterranean diet. Cholesterol is for people who live on fry-ups. Isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

In fact, I discovered that most people\u2019s cholesterol goes up in their 50s \u2013 even if, like me, they have a healthy lifestyle.<\/p>\n

At 69, I am right in the danger zone. So what can we do about it?<\/p>\n

Soon after receiving my test results (my total cholesterol was 5.4mmol\/l \u2013 the recommended limit is 5mmol\/l), the pharmacist phones to suggest that I should start taking statins.<\/p>\n

About eight million Brits take these to reduce cholesterol and they are one of the NHS<\/a>\u2019s most commonly prescribed drugs.<\/p>\n

But I didn\u2019t fancy the idea of being on daily medication for life if I didn\u2019t need to. I wondered if there might be another way.<\/p>\n

Astonishingly, all it took was a tweak to one meal a day \u2013 which does make me ask, could some of those who are on statins get their cholesterol down in other ways?<\/p>\n

I wanted to understand more about why my cholesterol was raised in the first place.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"I <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

I discovered that most people\u2019s cholesterol goes up in their 50s \u2013 even if, like me, they have a healthy lifestyle, writes Gaby Koppel<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\"When <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

When a recent blood test revealed that my cholesterol was raised, I was taken aback<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The fact is, says Dr Roy Jogiya, a consultant cardiologist at Kingston and Richmond Hospital NHS Trust and the Cleveland Clinic London, it is now known that as early as in our 20s or 30s the liver can start becoming less efficient at clearing LDL cholesterol from the blood \u2013 that\u2019s the bad kind which clogs arteries.<\/p>\n

Eventually, \u2018cholesterol-rich plaque can build up in the artery wall, become unstable and rupture\u2019, adds Dr Jogiya, who is also chief medical adviser for the charity Heart Research UK.<\/p>\n

If clots break off and block a blood vessel, they can cause heart attacks and strokes.<\/p>\n

For women, the situation is even more bleak, he adds. When they go through the menopause, they lose the protection of the hormone oestrogen, which helps to moderate levels of LDL cholesterol by raising levels of the more beneficial HDL cholesterol. This escorts excess LDL out of the body.<\/p>\n

In fact, Dr Jogiya tells me that women are twice as likely to die from a heart attack as breast cancer, which I find shocking.<\/p>\n

Age and medical history do add considerably to my risk. I carry the breast cancer gene BRCA2 and I had my ovaries removed more than 20 years ago, pushing me into an early menopause.<\/p>\n

Statins lower \u2018bad\u2019 cholesterol by inhibiting an enzyme in the liver called HMG-CoA reductase, which is essential for producing cholesterol. \u2018For the right person, statins can be genuinely life-saving,\u2019 says Dr Jogiya.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t convinced that I was the right person \u2013 as my risk of having a heart attack in the next ten years was calculated to be a \u2018moderate\u2019 15.4 per cent. After a discussion with the pharmacist, we agree that I would start by tweaking my lifestyle and, as I already exercised at least three times a week and don\u2019t smoke, that meant looking at my diet.<\/p>\n

I browsed the supermarket chiller cabinet. There is a section filled with drinks and spreads that claim to bring down cholesterol. Products that contain plant-derived stanols or sterols \u2013 cholesterol-like compounds that block the absorption of LDL cholesterol, so that it is carried out of the body as waste instead.<\/p>\n

A study, in the British Journal of Nutrition in 2014, found that consuming about 2-3g of sterols a day can cut cholesterol by 6-12 per cent in four weeks.<\/p>\n

I buy some own-brand drinks and start taking them daily. But they taste awful, with an overpowering tang of artificial sweetener, and consuming ultra-processed foods seems to be at odds with the aim of improving my health. After a fortnight, I give up.<\/p>\n

Still worried about my cholesterol, a month later I come across some research on oats.<\/p>\n

In a small experiment at a German university, reported in January in the journal Nature Communications, participants who ate nothing but oats for 48 hours experienced a drop in their \u2018bad\u2019 cholesterol by 10 per cent.<\/p>\n

Mine is a worrying 2.9mmol\/l \u2013 Dr Jogiya recommends that, ideally, it should be less than 2mmol\/l. (My \u2018good\u2019 HDL cholesterol is a healthy 2.2.)<\/p>\n

The cholesterol-lowering properties of oats are due to a type of fibre called beta-glucan \u2013 it forms a viscous gel in the intestines, trapping the \u2018bad\u2019 cholesterol and removing it from the body.<\/p>\n

As I can\u2019t face an oats-only diet, I try a gentler approach. I soak oats overnight in water and add a tablespoon of soaked chia seeds (also cholesterol-lowering), milled linseeds (ditto), toasted sunflower seeds, fresh fruit and a couple of tablespoons of full-fat Greek yoghurt.<\/p>\n

Fermented dairy foods, such as yoghurt, do not necessarily raise blood cholesterol even if they are high in fat because the fermentation process changes how the body processes them, explains Sarah Berry, a professor of nutritional science at King\u2019s College London.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"I <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

I soak oats overnight in water and add a tablespoon of soaked chia seeds (also cholesterol-lowering), milled linseeds (ditto), toasted sunflower seeds, fresh fruit and a couple of tablespoons of full-fat Greek yoghurt<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\"Statins <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Statins lower \u2018bad\u2019 cholesterol by inhibiting an enzyme in the liver called HMG-CoA reductase, which is essential for producing cholesterol<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

My creation is delicious and I happily swap it over for my usual boiled egg and toast. This is the only change I make \u2013 as I\u2019ve always eaten plenty of fruit and vegetables and avoid processed foods anyway.<\/p>\n

So is my breakfast makeover enough to make a difference?<\/p>\n

A month after I start eating oats (and six months after my worrying reading), a new blood test shows my overall cholesterol has gone down from 5.4 to 4.9 \u2013 below the danger line.<\/p>\n

Better still, my LDL has dropped from 2.9 to 2.2; a reduction of more than 20 per cent.<\/p>\n

Cholesterol can change for all sorts of reasons, including what you ate in your most recent meal, but my change seems pretty decisive.<\/p>\n

Professor Berry, who is also chief scientist for nutrition company Zoe, smiles when I tell her my results. \u2018I\u2019m impressed,\u2019 she says, \u2018but not totally shocked.<\/p>\n

\u2018That\u2019s what I would hope to see. And I always think we should take a one-meal first approach and think about what\u2019s the easiest meal to change.\u2019<\/p>\n

She adds: \u2018For many people, this means their breakfast \u2013 or snacks. Snacking accounts in the UK for 25 per cent of our energy intake.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s the other simplest single dietary strategy to improve your health, in my opinion.\u2019<\/p>\n

But why is the NHS spending \u00a3100million a year on statins when a simple change of diet seems to do the job so effectively (at least for me)?<\/p>\n

Dr Jogiya says: \u2018Lifestyle measures are always first and there\u2019s no substitute for them.\u2019 Although for those with very high cholesterol or who have heart disease, diabetes or an inherited risk of high cholesterol, statins should be considered earlier, he adds. This is because statins can, in some cases, lower cholesterol by 40 per cent or more.<\/p>\n

Diet cannot reduce cholesterol as far or as fast as statins can, he adds. \u2018They are inexpensive and extremely effective \u2013 and one reason why deaths from cardiovascular disease have fallen by 68 per cent over the past 30 years.\u2019<\/p>\n

Professor Berry, however, insists diet can be as just as effective as statins.<\/p>\n

\u2018Research shows that we can achieve extraordinary results just by changing what we eat,\u2019 she says. \u2018By adopting a diet high in fibre-rich fruit and vegetables, nuts, pulses and seeds, we can lower LDL cholesterol by amounts that rival some standard medications.\u2019<\/p>\n

But she adds: \u2018Often it\u2019s easier for people to pop a pill than overhaul their diet, which is a shame.\u2019<\/p>\n

And Professor Berry believes that everyone should adopt such changes \u2013 even if they don\u2019t have raised cholesterol yet.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to stick with the oats to see if I can get my cholesterol even lower. But I\u2019ve discovered another surprising benefit of my new breakfast \u2013 I\u2019ve lost 1.5kg in the six months since I was first tested, without any effort at all.<\/p>\n

Professor Berry thinks that may be because seeds can go straight through the digestive system without being absorbed, but also due to \u2018the highly satiating effect of the healthy fats, protein and fats in the breakfast\u2019.<\/p>\n

In other words, I\u2019m more satisfied so less inclined to snack. Despite being a medically healthy weight, like many other women, I would love to be just a little lighter. So this is good news that gives me an extra spring in my step.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When a recent blood test revealed that my cholesterol was raised, I was taken aback. What, me? I\u2019m a gym bunny, a slim three-times-a-week yoga fan, who feasts on avocado daily as part of my Mediterranean diet. Cholesterol is for people who live on fry-ups. Isn\u2019t it? In fact, I discovered that most people\u2019s cholesterol<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9260,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[520],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9259","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hot"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9259"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9259\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}