Hannah's cholesterol update...

By Hannah Sherwood

For those of you who read the cholesterol feature in September’s issue of HFG, you will have seen my mug shot alongside how I discovered that I have high cholesterol at the age of 23. Quite a shock, as I am generally in good health, have a healthy diet, am not overweight and exercise regularly. So what happened next?

My cholesterol journey so far

First step: discovery at a cholesterol seminar I attended for work that I had high cholesterol.

Second step: fasting blood test to confirm the cholesterol reading.

Third step: lipid clinic…

At the lipid clinic I was weighed and measured and had my blood pressure taken by a nurse before seeing the doctor. The doctor ran through how I’d ended up at the clinic today and remarked (yet again) at how I was the youngest patient he’d seen with high cholesterol. There was heavy focus on my lifestyle and family medical history, and after explaining how my dad has high cholesterol, as does my sister (who panicked after I told her my level and had hers checked immediately), it was becoming more probable that I have familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH), the type of cholesterol you inherit or have from birth.

What is FH?

For one in 500 of the population, a specific genetic defect causes high cholesterol. On all cells of the body, and mainly in the liver, there is a receptor that allows low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (the bad kind) to be cleared from the bloodstream. People with FH have a defect in the gene of this LDL-cholesterol receptor. This causes LDL cholesterol to accumulate in the blood and ultimately in the walls of your arteries. Siblings and children of a person with FH have a 50% risk of getting the defect.

The tests

The doctor checked for fatty deposits (lumps) around my achilles and the knuckles on my hands, as well as my eyes. These cholesterol deposits are among the symptoms of FH. He checked my heartbeat, which was good, and checked for a pulse in my feet, which was also fine and meant that the blood flow was OK. I had my blood taken again to check for any secondary causes of hypercholesterolaemia.

What now?

My cholesterol needs to be brought down to a healthier level. A healthy LDL figure for most people is less than 3mmol/L, for people at high risk, like me, it’s less than 2mmol/L – but mine is 5.8! I was told there's nothing I can do lifestyle or diet-wise that will make a big enough difference, so I need to take statins for life. I was prescribed atorvastatin (1 tablet a day). I'm booked in for a check up in three months to see if the statin is working, and also to check that my body – most importantly my liver – agrees with it.

The bottom line

I was a bit disheartened – being 23 and feeling fit and healthy, the diagnosis seemed unfair. But, as the doctor warned me, having high cholesterol means I’m 10 times more likely to have a heart attack than someone with normal cholesterol levels, so I now see finding out as a blessing in disguise. It means I’ll be able to monitor it and bring it down far earlier than if I’d found out in 10, 20 or 30 years’ time. Who knows what state my arteries might have been in by then?

For more about cholesterol, plus diet tips go to http://www.healthyfood.co.uk/ 

Low-fat gluten-free pudding recipes

In the October issue of Healthy Food Guide (out today!) we give you the ultimate collection of guilt-free comfort puddings. Sounds too good to be true, right? Turn to page 63 and try the 10 recipes for yourself. But wait, there’s more… Here we can serve you an extra slice, as we’ve tweaked two of the recipes to make them gluten-free and still delicious. Plus, try our chef’s tips using some of our favourite free-from ingredients.

Pear and berry crumble

Prep 10 min Cook 25 min Serves 6

Cooking oil spray

4 ripe pears, cut into 2cm chunks

300g raspberries and/or blackberries

125g gluten-free porridge oats

60g brown sugar

2tbsp runny honey

75g gluten-free plain flour

40g low-fat spread, melted

3tbsp orange juice

500g tub gluten-free low-fat custard (check it’s gluten free), to serve

1Heat the oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/gas 5. Spray a 1.5 litre baking dish with oil, then add the pears and berries.

2Combine the oats, sugar, honey and flour in a medium mixing bowl. Add the spread
and orange juice and stir until combined. Sprinkle over the
fruit, then bake for 20–25 min until golden.

3 Serve the crumble hot, warm or cold with the custard.

CHEF’S TIP: For a cheat’s crumble, cook the fruit for 20 min or until tender, then scatter over 250g Nature’s Path Nice And Nobbly Gluten Free Granola and cook for 4–5 min more until hot.

Per serving

307kcal

6.5g protein

5.5g fat

1.6g saturates

60.2g carbs

32.7g sugar

7g fibre

0.1g salt

164mg calcium

1.9mg iron

LOW FAT

LOW SAT FAT

LOW SALT

VEG

GLUTEN FREE

2 OF 5-A-DAY

Mixed berry vanilla sponge
cake

Prep 10 min Cook 20 min Serves 8

3 eggs

115g caster sugar

125g gluten-free plain flour

½tsp gluten-free baking powder

A few drops vanilla extract

400g frozen mixed berries

4tbsp no-added-sugar black cherry or blackcurrant jam

200g 2% fat Greek yogurt

1 Heat the oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/gas 5 and line a 20–22cm diameter cake tin with baking paper.

2In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together with an electric hand mixer until the mixture is thick, creamy and trebled in volume (this will take 4–5 min) – the beaters should leave a thick trail on the surface when lifted.

3 Sift half the flour over the mixture, then fold in lightly using a metal spoon. Sift over the remaining flour, then fold in, along with the vanilla extract and 1tbsp water.

4 Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, then tilt the tin to spread evenly. Bake for 15–18 min until risen, golden, firm to touch and beginning to shrink away from the tin. Cool in the tin for 5 min, then turn out on to a wire rack to cool completely.

5Meanwhile, heat the berries and jam together in a medium pan until the fruit is soft and juicy.

6 Spread the yogurt over the cooled sponge. Cut the cake into 8 slices, then serve topped with a spoonful of the berry mixture.

CHEF’S TIP: For a crunchy cake topping, crush 75g Nature’s Path Nice And Nobbly Gluten Free Berry Granola, then scatter over the cake batter before baking.

Per serving

218kcal

6.7g protein

3.3g fat

1.1g saturates

41.1g carbs

28.6g sugar

2g fibre

0.2g salt

67mg calcium

1.2mg iron

LOW FAT

LOW SAT FAT

LOW SALT

VEG

GLUTEN FREE

Nature’s Path Nice And Nobbly Gluten Free Berry Granola won the The Grocer New Product Award in the special diet and free-from category. 

How to find your get up and go…

By Melanie Leyshon

Confession: I’ve become desk-bound. It's no fault but my own, but I've turned into a right desk potato. Lately, I’ve even started lunching al desko. And I’m not alone, as eight out of 10 office workers admit they barely leave their desks during the working day. The only time we stretch out our legs is when we take the few steps to and from the loo, or the kitchen when it’s our turn to make the tea round. But health experts agree that endless hours of sitting are playing havoc with our health, weight and state of mind, putting us at greater risk of lifestyle diseases such as type 2 diabetes.

So when a swanky fitness wristband that counts the steps you take arrived in the office, I jumped out of my chair, eager to give it a road test. The government recommends we take 10,000 steps a day for good health – a challenge I was ready to take on.

Unlike many gadgets, the Garmin Vivofit Fitness Band and I hit it off straight away – it’s that easy to set up. Wear it throughout the day like a watch, see your steps tot up on the screen, then press the button and it will sync your stats to your computer or smartphone.

That’s not to say there weren't any bumps in the road. The first time I wore the band it clocked 25 steps without me even standing up! But then I re-read the instructions and learned that Vivofit works by measuring arm movements, so I stopped waving my arms around at my desk and found my true stride.

How did I measure up? My walk to and from the train station clocked up 3,000 steps. Not enough. So I introduced a long walk at lunchtime, making up an extra 4,000 steps. Still not enough. Then I started walking instead of getting the tube to meet friends after work, and put in more and more effort to meet the 10,000 step target. It worked – by the second week I was topping 12,000 steps or more each day.

The band can track your sleep pattern, too, based on your movement. I found the more food and wine I had late in the evening, the more restless I was in the night. No surprises there.

Now for the big question: would I buy a Garmin Vivofit Fitness Band? Absolutely. It’s easy to manage and acts as a constant reminder to get up and move. After all, it’s all too easy to just sit here, typing…

Garmin Vivofit comes in six colours and costs £99.99 from buy.garmin.com/en-GB/GB/watches-wearable-technology/wearables/vivofit-/prod143405.html 

  

Why free school meals are a good thing

By nutritionist Amanda Ursell

Pupils at Walnut Tree Walk Primary School in London sat down to lunch with Nick Clegg last December. But not everyone's so impressed with the School Food Plan…  

Free school meals for all infant school children in English primary schools became a reality with the start of the autumn term. So how come some people are against them?

The provision of free school meals for all children in reception classes and years one and two was a key recommendation of the independently produced School Food Plan, published by Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent in July last year.

You don’t have to look far for vocal dissenters of the scheme – complaints include kitchens not being ready, meals not being balanced and the bad economics of offering free meals for children of parents who could afford to pay.

As a nutritionist, I find it hard to see that a programme that sets out to provide every small child aged five to seven with a balanced meal at lunchtime can be a bad thing.

Pilot studies in Durham and Newham in London, carried out between 2009 and 2011, have shown that the children who were given healthy, free school lunches were two months ahead academically, compared with their non-free school meal contemporaries. They revealed an increase of almost 25% in the consumption of vegetables, an 18% reduction in the consumption of crisps, a reduction in sugary drinks and an increase in water as the drink of choice.  

I’ve also heard fantastically positive success stories from head teachers and school cooks who believe that classes of children who eat together and learn together, whatever their backgrounds, is a good thing.  

The bottom line is that children concentrate better, feel better and probably, as a result, behave better (allowing a teacher to do their job with fewer interruptions), when they’ve eaten good food.

Some lunches may not yet be nutritionally ideal, some school head teachers not fully engaged, some school kitchens and cooks not fully ready and up to speed, but it’s a work in progress and we need to look at the longer term.

The school lunch system needs ‘customers’ to survive: the more children eating at school, the better the meals and service can be. So, once they’re in the system, it’s hoped that those entitled to continue to have funding for their lunches will do just this, while those who can afford to pay also continue.

Whichever way you cut it, I’m a supporter. I hope we see the scheme succeed and, crucially, that the children for whom it's intended benefit nutritionally, academically and socially through the simple pleasure of being able to sit round a table and enjoy lunch with their friends.