{"id":3093,"date":"2023-02-22T03:39:25","date_gmt":"2023-02-21T16:39:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifeprogram.org.au\/2023\/02\/22\/diet-to-reduce-cholesterol\/"},"modified":"2025-06-18T16:57:06","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T05:57:06","slug":"diet-to-reduce-cholesterol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeprogram.org.au\/health-hub\/diet-to-reduce-cholesterol\/","title":{"rendered":"Diet to Reduce Cholesterol"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A healthy diet that helps reduce cholesterol is important for Australians, as approximately half of Australia\u2019s adult population have high blood cholesterol <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Source: <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au\/health\/conditionsandtreatments\/cholesterol\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Better Health<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">)<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. In this article, we will explain what cholesterol is, and how you can manage it by eating a healthy diet.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>What is cholesterol?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cholesterol is a type of fat that is produced naturally by your liver and gets carried around your body through your bloodstream. Its job is to help your body by;<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Building the structure of cell membranes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Producing oestrogen, testosterone and adrenal hormones.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aiding your metabolic processes, such as the production of vitamin D.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Creating bile acids that help your body digest fat and absorb important nutrients.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>There are two kinds of cholesterol;<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Low-density lipoprotein (LDL)<\/strong> which is referred to as \u2018bad cholesterol\u2019 because it can cause health problems if it builds up in the arteries.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>High-density lipoprotein (HDL)<\/strong> which is often called \u2018good cholesterol\u2019 because it helps remove excess amounts of other forms of cholesterol from the body\u2019s cells.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When we eat certain foods, our body produces different kinds of cholesterol. So, it\u2019s important to eat foods that promote the creation of good cholesterol in the body.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>What are the recommended cholesterol targets?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The recommended blood cholesterol targets rely on a number of factors that are based on your personal risk.\u00a0 For the general healthy population, a total cholesterol of less than 5.5 mmol\/L, LDL less than 2.0mmol\/L and HDL of greater than 1.0 mmol\/L is advised.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you are considered at high risk for chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease and stroke, a total cholesterol of\u00a0 less than 4.0 mmol\/L, LDL of less than 1.8 mmol\/L and HDL of greater than 1.0 mmol\/L is recommended <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Source: <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.csiro.au\/en\/research\/health-medical\/nutrition\/cholesterol-facts#:~:text=Total%20Cholesterol%3A%20%3C4.0%20mmol%2F,HDL)%3A%20%3E%201.0mmol%2FL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CSIRO<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">)<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Why do I need to reduce cholesterol levels?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Too much cholesterol results in the buildup of fatty deposits within the arteries that causes them to harden and narrow. When the arteries harden and narrow, it becomes more difficult for them to transport enough blood and oxygen to important organs in your body, such as your heart and brain.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This leads to various health complications; such as heart disease and stroke. High cholesterol doesn\u2019t have symptoms; so it is important that you consult your doctor and have your cholesterol checked if you are at risk.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can check your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke using <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lifeprogram.org.au\/learn-about-life\/#health-check\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Life!<\/em> <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">program\u2019s online health check<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>What kind of diet reduces cholesterol?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The best kind of diet for reducing cholesterol is the same as a generally healthy diet. If you pair a healthy diet with regular exercise, stress management, maintaining a healthy weight and monitoring your cholesterol levels, you can successfully reduce your cholesterol.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are steps you can take to maintain a healthy diet and reduce your cholesterol levels.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-banner -half-image\">\n    <div class=\"-text\">\n        <h2 class=\"-eyebrow-heading\"><\/h2>\n        <h3 class=\"-large-heading\">Learn more about healthy eating from expert dietitians with our free <em>Life!<\/em> program.<\/h3>\n        <div class=\"-button\">\n            <a\n                href=\"#health-check\"\n                class=\"button\"\n            >CHECK IF YOU QUALIFY<\/a>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"-image\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\"\n            src=\"https:\/\/lifeprogram.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Diabetes-Vic_Life-Program_Shot-02_Individuals_122-min-scaled.jpg\"\n            alt=\"banner image\"\n        \/>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3><strong>Eat less saturated and trans fats<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Foods with high levels of saturated and trans fats raise the levels of LDL cholesterol in your blood, and should be avoided:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>These foods include;<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Full fat: milk, yoghurt, cheese, ice-cream and custard<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Animal fat<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Poultry skin<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Butter, lard, dripping, cream, sour cream, copha, coconut milk, coconut cream and hard cooking margarines<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pastries, cakes, puddings, chocolate and cream biscuits<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pre-packaged biscuits, savoury packet snacks, cakes, frozen and convenience meals<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Processed deli meats (devon\/polony\/fritz\/luncheon meat, chicken loaf, salami etc) and sausages<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fried takeaway foods such as chips, fried chicken and battered fish<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pies, sausage rolls and pastries<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Creamy sauces or dressings<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Creamy style soups<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Eat more healthier fats<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While saturated and trans fats are not ideal food options, that doesn\u2019t mean that you have to eliminate all fat from your diet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instead, aim to eat more polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. These kinds of fats help your body get the essential fatty acids and vitamins that it needs without significantly raising your LDL levels.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Polyunsaturated fats include:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Polyunsaturated margarines (check the label for the word \u2018polyunsaturated\u2019)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sunflower, safflower, soybean, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed and sesame oils<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The fat found in oily fish such as herring, mackerel, sardine, salmon and tuna.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Monounsaturated fats include:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Olive oil<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Peanut butter, almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, peanuts and pistachios<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some margarines<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rapeseed oil<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Avocado<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>You can find both polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats in:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seeds<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nuts<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nut spreads<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Peanut oil<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Eat more soluble fibre<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Soluble fibre plays an important role in cholesterol reduction by lowering the absorption of cholesterol in your blood and your small intestine. Additionally, soluble fibre helps by slowing down your digestion, making you feel fuller for longer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Foods that are high in soluble fibre include;<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oats<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lentils, peas and beans<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Psyllium<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Barley<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fruits and vegetables (such as apples and carrots)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While soluble fibre is important for reducing cholesterol, insoluble fibre is also important for a healthy diet, as it plays a role in digestive health. You can find insoluble fibre in wholemeal breads, cereals, the outer skin of fruits and vegetables, as well as nuts and seeds.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-banner -centered-quote\">\n    <h2 class=\"-eyebrow-heading\"><\/h2>\n    <blockquote cite=\"https:\/\/www.huxley.net\/bnw\/four.html\">\n        <p>\n            <svg width=\"0.65em\" height=\"0.65em\" viewBox=\"0 0 17 14\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\" xml:space=\"preserve\" xmlns:serif=\"http:\/\/www.serif.com\/\" style=\"fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;stroke-linejoin:round;stroke-miterlimit:2;\">\n                <path d=\"M14.631,6.929L12.156,6.929L12.156,4.949C12.156,3.857 13.044,2.969 14.136,2.969L14.384,2.969C14.795,2.969 15.126,2.638 15.126,2.227L15.126,0.742C15.126,0.331 14.795,0 14.384,0L14.136,0C11.402,0 9.187,2.215 9.187,4.949L9.187,12.373C9.187,13.192 9.852,13.857 10.672,13.857L14.631,13.857C15.451,13.857 16.116,13.192 16.116,12.373L16.116,8.413C16.116,7.594 15.451,6.929 14.631,6.929ZM5.723,6.929L3.248,6.929L3.248,4.949C3.248,3.857 4.136,2.969 5.228,2.969L5.475,2.969C5.887,2.969 6.218,2.638 6.218,2.227L6.218,0.742C6.218,0.331 5.887,0 5.475,0L5.228,0C2.493,0 0.279,2.215 0.279,4.949L0.279,12.373C0.279,13.192 0.944,13.857 1.764,13.857L5.723,13.857C6.542,13.857 7.207,13.192 7.207,12.373L7.207,8.413C7.207,7.594 6.542,6.929 5.723,6.929Z\" style=\"fill:currentColor;fill-rule:nonzero;\"\/>\n            <\/svg>\n            <span>\"The <em>Life!<\/em> program has completely changed what is in my shopping basket.\"<\/span>\n            <svg width=\"0.6em\" height=\"0.6em\" viewBox=\"0 0 16 14\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\" xml:space=\"preserve\" xmlns:serif=\"http:\/\/www.serif.com\/\" style=\"fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;stroke-linejoin:round;stroke-miterlimit:2;\">\n                <path d=\"M1.484,6.929L3.958,6.929L3.958,8.908C3.958,10 3.071,10.888 1.979,10.888L1.731,10.888C1.32,10.888 0.989,11.219 0.989,11.63L0.989,13.115C0.989,13.527 1.32,13.857 1.731,13.857L1.979,13.857C4.713,13.857 6.928,11.643 6.928,8.908L6.928,1.485C6.928,0.665 6.263,0 5.443,0L1.484,0C0.664,0 -0.001,0.665 -0.001,1.485L-0.001,5.444C-0.001,6.264 0.664,6.929 1.484,6.929ZM10.392,6.929L12.867,6.929L12.867,8.908C12.867,10 11.979,10.888 10.887,10.888L10.64,10.888C10.228,10.888 9.897,11.219 9.897,11.63L9.897,13.115C9.897,13.527 10.228,13.857 10.64,13.857L10.887,13.857C13.621,13.857 15.836,11.643 15.836,8.908L15.836,1.485C15.836,0.665 15.171,0 14.351,0L10.392,0C9.572,0 8.907,0.665 8.907,1.485L8.907,5.444C8.907,6.264 9.572,6.929 10.392,6.929Z\" style=\"fill:currentColor;fill-rule:nonzero;\"\/>\n            <\/svg>\n        <\/p>\n        <cite>Soheil, a <em><em>Life!<\/em><\/em> program participant  - <a href=\"https:\/\/lifeprogram.org.au\/success-stories\">Read more<\/a><\/cite>\n    <\/blockquote>\n    <div class=\"-button\">\n        <a\n            href=\"#health-check\"\n            class=\"button\"\n        >Take a free health assessment now<\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3><strong>Eat more plant sterols<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Plant sterols are compounds that lower LDL cholesterol. They occur naturally in foods such as fruits and vegetables, as well as nuts and grains. They are also added to certain packaged foods including table spreads, cereals, and low fat dairy products such as yoghurt and milk.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adding plant sterol-enriched foods to your diet is the most effective dietary change you can make to reduce your LDL cholesterol. However they\u2019re not recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding women <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Source: <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthdirect.gov.au\/how-to-lower-cholesterol\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Health Direct<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">)<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>How do portion sizes work for reducing cholesterol?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Portion sizes play a huge role in effectively reducing cholesterol; as you want to eat enough foods to give your body the nutrients it needs to produce HDL, while limiting foods that raise your LDL.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Australian Dietary Guidelines<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> provide guides on how to portion your food for <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eatforhealth.gov.au\/food-essentials\/how-much-do-we-need-each-day\/recommended-number-serves-adults\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">adults<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, as well as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eatforhealth.gov.au\/food-essentials\/how-much-do-we-need-each-day\/recommended-number-serves-children-adolescents-and-toddlers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">children, adolescents and toddlers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Case Study: The Mediterranean Diet<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.racgp.org.au\/FSDEDEV\/media\/documents\/Clinical%20Resources\/HANDI\/Mediterranean-diet.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mediterranean Diet<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is an example of a healthy diet that can help reduce bad (LDL) cholesterol. It comprises of;<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">High monounsaturated (eg olive oil) to saturated (eg fatty red meat) ratio \u2013 at least 2:1<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">High intake of legumes<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">High intake of fruits and vegetables<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">High intake of grains and cereals<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moderate quantities of fish, white meat and low-fat dairy<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Low intake of red meat, processed meat and eggs<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Low intake of sweets, sweet desserts and sweet drinks<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>An example of a Mediterranean Diet meal plan would be;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Breakfast<\/b><\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sourdough bread, toasted, with chopped tomato, red onion and drizzled with olive oil and herbs<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 OR<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 Sourdough toast with slice of avocado, poached\u00a0 egg, and drizzled <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with olive oil and seasoned with cracked pepper<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Herbal tea or short black coffee<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Lunch<\/b><\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thick bean and vegetable soup<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">OR<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mixed salad with beans and tuna or salmon<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Small bunch of grapes<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Dinner<\/b><\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Baked fish (whole snapper or fillets) with baked potato (dressed with olive oil, grated fresh tomato, crushed garlic and fresh herbs)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Leafy green salad dressed with lemon juice and olive oil<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Snacks<\/b><\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whole orange and handful of almonds<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Small bowl Greek-style natural yoghurt topped with crushed <\/span>walnuts and drizzled with honey<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h3><strong>Where can I find recipes for my diet to reduce cholesterol?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re looking for recipes that you can use in your own diet to reduce cholesterol, the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lifeprogram.org.au\/health-hub\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Life!<\/em> <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">program Health Hub<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> contains various healthy recipes for all meals of the day (breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in between).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>How the <i><em>Life!<\/em><\/i> program can help you<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Life!<\/em><\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> program is a free healthy lifestyle program that helps you improve your eating habits, increase your physical activity and manage stress. You can choose from a group course or the telephone health coaching service.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our experienced health professionals will help you make small changes to your lifestyle so that you can achieve your health goals and reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Life!<\/em><\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is funded by the Victorian government and managed by Diabetes Victoria. You can check your eligibility for the program <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lifeprogram.org.au\/learn-about-life\/#am-i-eligible\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"button teal\" href=\"#health-check\">Take the health check<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A healthy diet that helps reduce cholesterol is important for Australians, as approximately half of Australia\u2019s adult population have high blood cholesterol (Source: Better Health). In this article, we will explain what cholesterol is, and how you can manage it by eating a healthy diet. What is cholesterol? Cholesterol is a type of fat that is produced naturally by your&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":3094,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeprogram.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeprogram.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeprogram.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeprogram.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeprogram.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3093"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/lifeprogram.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3093\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4794,"href":"https:\/\/lifeprogram.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3093\/revisions\/4794"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeprogram.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeprogram.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeprogram.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeprogram.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}