Aim for a healthy weight
Being overweight can increase your cholesterol levels and also your risk of Type 2 diabetes
Why is your diet and lifestyle important?
Everyone needs to look after their cholesterol levels for a healthy heart, and if you’re from a South Asian background, it’s even more important. This is because South Asian people tend to be more likely to develop heart disease.
Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the UK's single biggest killer. It can affect anyone, but South Asian people are approximately 50% more likely to die prematurely from CHD than the general population. The reason why is not completely understood, but certain risk factors are common among South Asians.
These risk factors vary between communities but include smoking (including shisha and tobacco chewing), low rates of physical activity and a diet high in fat and low in fruit and vegetables. South Asian people are also more likely to develop health problems that can lead to heart disease, including high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes – diabetes is up to six times more common in South Asian people.
A healthy diet and lifestyle can help prevent or manage these conditions. You don’t have to give up your traditional South Asian foods. Many of them are healthy choices, such as dahls, pulses and vegetables, but the way they are prepared is important. Small changes can make a big difference.
What's the best way to lower cholesterol?
Go for a combination of a low saturated fat diet that includes cholesterol-lowering foods, regular physical activity, and maintaining a healthy body weight.
Current guidelines recommend no more than 30g of saturated fat for men and no more than 20g for women per day.
Eat less fat
Remember all kinds of fats are high in calories, so keep to small amounts if you are trying to lose weight.
Eat less saturated fat
- Avoid using ghee, butter, coconut oil or palm oil in cooking. Did you know that there is 10g of saturated fat in just one tablespoon of ghee? Vegetable ghee is often high in harmful trans fats too. So, replace these saturated fats with small amounts of healthier unsaturated fats such as rapeseed oil (usually sold as pure vegetable oil), olive oil, sunflower oil or corn oil.
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Don't re-use oil for deep frying because the chemical reactions that happen when oil is reheated produce potentially harmful substances.
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Check food labels. For saturated fat, look for foods with 1.5g or less of 'saturates' per 100g. If a product has 5g or more per 100g it is high in saturates. Some foods have a front of pack nutrition label which uses red, amber and green colour coding. Aim to include more foods which are green for saturates. As a guide, for a food to qualify as a healthy choice, look for a mixture of greens and ambers and very few reds.
Cut down on fat generally
- Whenever possible, microwave, steam, poach, bake, boil or grill instead of frying. If you use oil for making curries, measure it out with a spoon instead of pouring from the container. Limit it to one teaspoon per person. Add water or tinned tomatoes to stop food sticking to the pan. Double the amount of onions you use for sauces to increase the moisture content.
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Invest in a good quality non-stick frying pan and use it to start your Turka or vagar.
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Brown your meat in a non-stick pan, drain excess fat and then add the Turka.
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Avoid adding ghee or butter to your chapatti dough and cooked dhal, and avoid spreading fat on cooked chapatis.
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Skim off any oil that settles on top of the cooked curry.
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Use smaller portions of meat and add extra vegetables and pulses such as peas, beans and lentils.
What foods should I eat?
Fruit and vegetables
Fruit and vegetables can help keep your cholesterol down, whether they're fresh, frozen, canned or dried. Aim for at least five servings every day. Include a side salad whenever possible with your main meals.
Beans and pulses
Aim for at least one portion of dhal/beans or soya daily. You can also add dhals to your meat dishes.
Unsalted nuts
Have a handful (30g) of unsalted nuts such as walnuts, almonds, peanuts, pistachios and pecans each day.
What about carbohydrates?
When choosing starchy (carbohydrate) foods, go for wholegrain varieties:
- Opt for medium brown or wholemeal chapati flour or try a combination of wholemeal and white flour mixed together. Bhajra (millet) roti is a good source of fibre, as is besan (gram flour). You can also mix soya flour with your regular chapati atta to boost fibre and protein.
- Try brown rice instead of white.
- Choose wholemeal, granary, rye or seeded breads instead of white.
- Aim for three portions of oat or barley-based foods each day, such as porridge, oat bran, oatibix, oatcakes, barley flakes and pearl barley.
| Traditional | Healthier swaps | |
| Starchy foods |
Paratha, puri, kachori, pulao, biriyani, fried potatoes |
Chapati, pitta bread, idli, boiled basmati rice, potatoes prepared with minimal oil |
| Vegetables |
Creamed or fried vegetables Oily pickles |
All vegetables cooked in minimal oil Dry pickles |
| Meat and alternatives |
Dahl made with ghee Paneer/cheese Butter chicken Fried kebabs Lamb curry Goat/mutton curry Lamb/beef keema Fried fish |
Dahl made with small amounts of unsaturated oil Soya chunks/keema Tofu/low-fat cheese Grilled chicken tikka or tandoori chicken Chicken keema Lean saag lamb (lean cut bulked with spinach) Baked/grilled masala fish |
| Dairy |
Whole milk and its products |
Semi-skimmed/skimmed milk Kheer made with semi or skimmed milk Shrikhand made with low-fat Greek-style yoghurt |
| Snacks |
Bhel puri Chevda, sev, gathia, dal moth, crisps Potato vada, pakoras, samosas Fried moong Dal vada Fried papad Fried salted nuts Biscuits, cakes, mithai |
Plain puffed rice with spices Chevda made with 1-part chevda mix and 3 parts puffed rice and spices. Dry roasted chick peas Roasted corn on the cob Boiled potato chaat Samosa baked in the oven Baked crisps Popcorn (unsalted) Microwave or grilled papad Handful of mixed unsalted nuts Fresh sprouted moon beans Dhokla, Handvo Fruit chaat Oatcakes, rye-based crackers with tomato salsa or cottage cheese |
Eat some omega 3-rich foods
Aim for two servings of fish per week, one of which should be oily, such as salmon, sardines and pilchards. Canned fish still counts and is convenient and cheap, and frozen fish can be as nutritious as fresh. You can add traditional spices to suit your taste buds!
Vegetarian sources of omega 3s include nuts, linseeds (ailsi/flaxseeds), dark green vegetables and soya beans.