WHAT CAUSES A HIGH LEVEL?

There are many factors which may cause your cholesterol level to be above the target level, however the most common dietary cause is eating too much fat and in particular too much saturated fat.



High intakes of saturated fat can raise bad (LDL) Cholesterol levels. It is found in fatty meat and milk products, butter, cheese, chips, and other snacks.

Things you can change:

• Your weight and shape (an increase in weight tends to increase cholesterol levels)
• Whether you are physically active (it lowers LDL cholesterol)
• Whether you are under stress
• Whether you eat a healthy diet (especially saturated and trans fats increase cholesterol levels)
• How much alcohol you drink (a small consumption increases the good HDL cholesterol, however more than two standard drinks per day will increase your overall cholesterol)
• Whether you smoke

Things you can't change:

• your gender (men tend to have higher cholesterol levels than women, until menopause when men and women are at equal risk)
• your age (cholesterol levels increase with age)
• your ethnicity (some ethnic groups have a higher risk than others)
• your family history (if your family is affected by cholesterol then you are likely to be affected by it).