Last month,
he hosted a press conference at the Wallace Collection to spread the word. He was
joined by a collection of celebrities who will be using Flora pro-activ, to see if they
can achieve the same miraculous results. They included in order of cholesterol merit: Peter Waterman (3.6), Vanessa Feltz (4.0), Jack
Charlton (5.2), Gabby Yorath (5.3), Sharron Davies (5.6), Edwina Currie (5.9), Stuart Hall
(6.1), Gloria Hunniford (6.4), Deepak Verma (6.4) and David Vine (7.6).
Because cholesterol levels are often a reflection of lifestyle, there was a
degree of competition amongst them. While most of
the women were anxious to prove what  good care they took of their bodies, the men had a more
cavalier attitude to diet and exercise. Some of them bragged unashamedly about their
kamikaze eating habits and slothful existences. David Vine, the highest scorer, proudly
attributed his 7.6 to four addictions: red
wine, biscuits, butter and cigarettes. ‘The
only Flora I know is a Portuguese cleaner,’ he joked.
A number of female participants cried out against the cruelty of fate. Edwina
Currie, never one to be seen with egg on her face, was incensed. Why was her
cholesterol so much higher than her partner’s when she looked after her health so
much more?
Gloria Hunniford was just as petulant. ‘It’s not fair,’ she
sighed over and over again. Vanessa Feltz, on the other hand, was unbearably smug. Having
once looked as if butter would only too readily melt in her mouth, her cholesterol was
reduced dramatically when she lost six stone.
But in cholesterol, as in life,
there is always an element of luck. And
the gene lottery makes losers of the most deserving. Deepak (Sanjay in Eastenders), fit
and in his prime, was forced to attribute his high 6.4 to a history of familial
hypercholestrolaemia, inherited high cholesterol levels.
In the audience, a sprightly and combative Dr Tom Stuttaford played
devil’s advocate. Pointing
out that there is good (HDL) and bad (LDL) cholesterol, he turned the Flora crusade on its
head. Stephen Redgrave’s impressive
post-Flora result wasn’t, according to him, that impressive at all, reflecting as it
did a lowering of both the good and the bad. The
body, maintained Dr Tom, needs fat. And very low cholesterol can lead to cancer and
clinical depression. A total level of 5.2 is considered normal by the UK Department of
Health, but it must take into account both HDL and LDL.
 For me, the Flora launch was a sobering experience. Coronaries are a recurring theme in my family. My
grandfather dropped dead off a Polo pony in India at the age of 31. My uncle, despite being an obsessive health
freak, died in his early forties. My own
cholesterol level, when measured a year ago, was a staggering 11.2. So high that it was
almost off the scale. It has since been
decreased to 8.2 by a lipid-lowering medication which I will have to take for the rest of
my life.
But it wasn’t until the Flora press conference that I realised how
seriously the matter should be taken. Compared to
claret-swigging, biscuit-guzzling David Vine, I am a walking time-bomb. On the way home, I started to see everything for
the last time. Bathed in a wintery sun, All
Saints Church had never looked so beautiful.
However, my doctor seems pleased with my descending levels. Just keep taking the tablets and the healthy lifestyle, he says. And yes, he’s even in favour of
borderline hypochondria if it keeps me on my toes.
Some pointers about diet, spreads and
supplements
· High cholesterol levels more than double the risk of a heart attack. Even a 1% reduction in levels gives a 2-3%
reduction in the risk. A level of 5.0 or
below is considered safe, and anything over 5.2 needs regular check-ups.
· A healthy diet to prevent or reduce cholesterol levels should include 5
helpings of fresh fruit and vegetables daily, red meat only once or twice a week, high
fibre foods like wholemeal bread, oats, lentils, oily fish such as sardines, herrings,
mackerel two or three times a week, reduced amount of butter and animal fats, increased
use of olive oil, no smoking, limited alcohol (ie one or two glasses red wine daily at most).
· Spreads such as Flora pro-actif can help as part of such a diet and are
available at supermarkets.
· A new supplement in tablet form called Lestrin is also available without
prescription. Lestrin contains plant
sterols, as do the newest spreads, and there is plenty of evidence that they can reduce
the harmful LDLs (low density lipoproteins) which deposit cholesterol in the artery walls.
· Spreads and supplements are not so good at maintaining the HDLs (high density
lipoproteins) which transport cholesterol to the liver and are essential for the balance
of healthy cholesterol levels.
· Anyone considering supplements or spreads to reduce cholesterol levels should
discuss the situation with their doctor and continue taking their prescription drugs.
You can also take a look at previous
personal views by Harriet Ewe:
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