People are often misled by claims that the amount of cholesterol in your bloodstream is directly related to your diet. Although your cholesterol levels can be influenced by diet it is much less relevant than people think.

In actual fact only 20% of your total cholesterol comes from your diet, a tiny amount. Your body produces more than 80% of your cholesterol naturally. This means that correcting imbalances and excess amounts of cholesterol needs to be tackled internally much more than externally.

Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is where inherited cholesterol levels are very high. There is also a condition called Familial Combined Hyperlipidaemia (FCH), where triglyceride levels are very high too.

Other common causes…

Health conditions such as diabetes, kidney and liver diseases. An under-active thyroid gland may also add to the problem.

Hydrogenated oils (unsaturated fats hardened to make them more solid) often found in margarines and cooking oils (especially those used to cook ‘fast foods’) raise cholesterol levels considerably. The hydrogenation process changes fatty acids into trans-fatty acids, and these cause a significant increase in LDLs and a noticeable loss of HDLs.

Medicines such as beta-blockers, steroids or thiazides (a type of diuretic) also cause side effects that may include increased cholesterol.