Have you ever had your cholesterol tested? I had mine done today…well you never know. Having no symptoms and the potential to be hereditary, it’s always best to check!
For all of you out there who aren’t quite sure what cholesterol is (yes, I’ll admit I was one of you a short while ago!), it’s a white waxy substance which is needed for good health…BUT too much can be bad. Cholesterol does help form cell membranes, various hormones, bile salts and vitamin D but on the other hand too much increases your risk of heart disease – and high cholesterol has no side effects so you might not see it coming (SORRY I don’t mean to scare you! Just showing it’s worth checking and getting tested!)
There are two types of cholesterol, HDL and LDL, which I won’t go into too much but in very basic terms LDL is bad if there’s too much, and HDL is good.
Your overall cholesterol level should be under 5. However in the UK 6 out of 10 adults have raised cholesterol!
This week and next week, Heart UK and Betavivo (a swedish cholesterol lowering cereal) are touring Britain to offer free cholesterol tests and advice, as part of National Cholesterol Month.
I went along today, a little nervous – I know it’s only a finger prick, silly me! – and they gave me my results straight away. My total cholesterol was a good level at 4.4, they gave me my HDL cholesterol level and TC:HDL (total cholesterol: “good cholesterol”) ratio which were also good. They explained everything to me, what it all meant, and I went away feeling great. There were people being told they had a raised cholesterol and these were getting to talk to the Heart UK experts on ways to improve. It was a really friendly team all round from greeting to farewell who all seemed really helpful.
The stand at a quite moment first thing in the morning
The testing team from BHR Pharmaceuticals hard at work
They had Goody bags too which you could take away with you if you donated to Heart UK. They had two weeks supply of Betavivo in and a voucher for your next purchase, plus other info and goodies.
I would highly recommend popping along, even just to be sure. The Betavivo and Heart UK roadshow carries on through to the end of next week. Here are the dates and locations – how helpful am I? :
Thursday 2nd October: Derby Intu shopping centre
Monday 6th October: Norwich Chapelfield shopping centre
Tuesday 7th October: Birmingham Touchwood shopping centre, Solihull
Wednesday 8th October: Milton Keynes Intu shopping centre
Thursday 9th October: Watford Intu shopping centre
They will be there from when shops open until roughly 4pm.
Hope you can make it to one too!
Chloe xx
