I have high cholesterol, can I use Purition?

We often get asked if you can use Purition when you have high cholesterol, so we thought we’d ask Registered Nutritional Therapist Kate Bevan Wood to give us her thoughts on using our shakes if you are following a low cholesterol diet.

Purition is a great meal replacement shake to use if you have been told to follow a low cholesterol diet!

Firstly, cholesterol isn’t all bad. It is an essential nutrient which our bodies make & need to keep our cells healthy and functioning. There are two types of cholesterol:

LDL or “low density lipoproteins”, the majority of which comes from food. This is often known as “Bad” cholesterol because too much of this can be unhealthy as it gets deposited into our view and artery walls.

HDL or “high density lipoproteins”. This is the “Good” cholesterol made by the liver and used to protect our cells and help transport LDL to the liver for elimination.

Why Purition works for low cholesterol diets

Fats

There may be 10 – 12g of fat in one serving of a Purition shake, but these fats are what are known as HEALTHY FATS and come from the variety of nuts and seeds in Purition, all of which are natural whole food sources.

These healthy fats are monounsaturated fats or polyunsaturated fats (which include Omega 3 & 6) and have actually been shown to have a positive impact on heart health, reducing the harmful LDL cholesterol. So, to put your minds at rest, Purition contains none of the nasty trans fats which we need to be concerned about for our cholesterol levels.

As well as being heart healthy, the healthy fats in Purition make us FEEL FULLER FOR LONGER and help to slow down the release of nutrients into our bloodstream. The healthy fats also satisfy our hunger hormone leptin, which sends a signal to the brain to say that we have received enough fat to nourish our cells and to stop eating, unfortunately without the healthy fats we don’t always get this message relayed which can often result in overeating.

Fibre

Purition also contains some great sources of FIBRE in the form of psyllium husk, apple pectin and flaxseed. Dietary fibre has many benefits for a healthy body, specifically for cholesterol, it is said to be heart protective and maybe beneficial in lowering the LDL levels in our bodies by supporting our liver to make more good cholesterol.

Fibre is also great for keeping those hunger pangs at bay. It takes longer for our bodies to digest fibre and the food stays longer in our stomachs giving us a feeling of fullness and satiety.

Phytoesterols

Eating a plant-based diet rich in PHYTOSTEROLS may also help reduce ‘bad’ cholesterol. The nuts, flaxseed and other seeds found in Purition are high in phytosterols, specifically almonds, pistachios and macadamias which are included in some of the different flavours. 

Protein

The PROTEIN content in Purition has many beneficial qualities from supporting muscle synthesis to keeping our bones healthy. Protein is also essential in helping us to manage our appetites as again, good sources, help us to feel fuller for longer and stop us from overeating.

Purition Vegan is made with pea, rice and hemp protein, while Purition Original is made with whey isolate protein.  

Other lifestyle factors to consider

Regular EXERCISE has been shown to naturally lower cholesterol levels so think about introducing a form of exercise you enjoy into your routine, twice a week. 

Purition is a great accompaniment to your exercise programme to help build and repair muscle tissue and reduce any inflammation in the body that exercise may cause. 

Purition can also be used as a healthy natural whole food meal replacement shake to help maintain a HEALTHY WEIGHT as this has also been shown to be beneficial for lowering LDL levels. 

Article written by Registered Nutritional Therapist: Kate Bevan Wood