How to Keep Your Cholesterol in the Right Range
Summary
Cholesterol isn’t bad – it’s essential. Your body needs it to build hormones, protect nerves, and repair every cell membrane. Problems start when balance is lost. High cholesterol or triglycerides are often your liver’s way of signalling that it needs support.
Across Ireland, and the UK where heart and metabolic issues remain widespread, small changes guided by a Registered Nutritionist or through professional Nutritionist Services and with Functional Medicine can meaningfully improve blood results – often within a few months of steady sustainable change.
1. The Liver’s Role in Cholesterol Balance
Around 80 per cent of the cholesterol in your bloodstream is made by our liver. The cholesterol we eat plays only a minor role.
Think of your liver as a skilled traffic controller – deciding how much cholesterol to send out, recycle, or excrete.
When this rhythm falters, cholesterol builds up. Common reasons include:
-
Diets high in processed foods, sugar, or refined oils
-
Regular alcohol use
-
Ongoing stress and poor sleep
-
Hormonal or thyroid changes (common during perimenopause and menopause)
-
Digestive or gut inflammation
A sluggish liver struggles to regulate fats and hormones. Supporting liver detoxification and gut health can naturally help lower cholesterol and triglycerides without extreme restriction.
2. The Mind-Body Connection: How Stress Affects Cholesterol
Stress is more than an emotional state, it’s a biochemical event.
When you’re anxious or overworked, your body releases cortisol, a hormone that signals the liver to produce glucose and triglycerides for instant energy. Over time, this repeated response quietly raises blood fats.
That’s where Counselling, Psychotherapy, or Clinical Hypnotherapy can help. Emotional stress often drives habits that influence cholesterol – such as late-night eating, alcohol use, or skipping meals. Addressing those triggers through nutritional counselling creates steady, lasting improvement rather than short-term “willpower wins.”
3. What You Can Try This Fortnight
Eat more colourful vegetables
Fill half your plate with colour: kale, broccoli, beetroot, peppers, carrots, and cabbage.
Brassica vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, kale) contain sulforaphane, a compound that helps the liver process fats and hormones.
Include healthy fats
Add avocado, extra-virgin olive oil, oily fish (salmon, sardines, mackerel), and a handful of nuts or seeds daily. These foods raise HDL (“good”) cholesterol and lower inflammation.
Go easy on alcohol
Your liver must process alcohol before handling fats. Reducing intake gives it breathing space to regulate cholesterol.
Cut back on ultra-processed foods
Ready meals and refined snacks often contain trans fats and added sugars that stress the liver. Choose whole Irish produce — vegetables, grains, and grass-fed proteins.
Add fibre every day
Fibre binds cholesterol in the gut and helps remove it from the body. Mix vegetables, oats, pulses, beans, and fruit. Work gradually towards 25–30 g daily.
Move regularly
Walk, swim, cycle, or garden. Moderate daily movement raises HDL and supports weight and improves mood regulation.
Prioritise rest
The liver works hardest at night. Good-quality sleep allows proper fat metabolism and hormone balance additionally
4. Nutrition Services, Counselling and Medication
If you’re already on cholesterol-lowering medication, nutrition still matters.
Medication addresses numbers; nutrition, lifestyle, and stress management help maintain those gains.
As a Registered Nutritionist, I often see Irish clients whose cholesterol remains stubbornly high despite treatment.
When we address food quality, liver health, and emotional wellbeing, results improve — energy lifts, digestion steadies, and follow-up bloods show healthier ratios.
Combining Nutrition Services, Counselling, and Clinical Hypnotherapy strengthens both motivation and consistency. Emotional support helps you sustain steady habits — vital when managing weight, perimenopause, thyroid issues, or fatigue.
5. Some of our Client Experiences
“After years on cholesterol tablets, my levels were still rising. Working with Claire as a Registered Nutritionist helped me really understand my liver and my diet properly. The counselling sessions reduced my stress steadily, which I hadn’t intially realised was so high. We made some steady changes, and Success!! – My next blood test finally showed normal results. Thank you Claire!”
— Male client, 56, County Limerick
“The nutritional counselling opened my eyes. Small tweaks to my fibre and fats made a huge difference. Combining nutrition and psychotherapy helped me stop emotional eating.”
— Female client, 48, East Cork
“Claire’s nutrition services and Clinical Hypnotherapy helped me change habits gently and I have kept them easily. My Doctor is delighted with my results, my triglycerides halved and my liver enzymes returned to normal within three months. As I got used to it – straightforward measures, that I have sustained. Delighted.”
— Female client, 39, Dublin
“I was lost in online advice from the internet, until I contacted Claire. Having a Registered Nutritionist give clear, evidence-based guidance – as well as her counselling helped, and to keep me accountable – it made all the difference. My GP was delighted with the improvements. Thank you Claire!”
— Male client, 63, Cork
“The functional nutrition approach connected everything — gut, hormones, and stress. My cholesterol fell, my digestion improved, and I finally feel balanced and truly happy again.”
— Female client, 52, Limerick
Please note: Everyone’s journey is unique, but gentle, sustainable, and evidence-based changes bring lasting results.
6. Safety Note
Always consult your GP, your Consultant or a Registered Nutritionist professional before changing medication or starting supplements. Re-check your bloods regularly to monitor progress.
Book a Consultation Now
Personalised Nutrition and Counselling for Cholesterol, Liver Function, and Emotional Wellbeing.
Appointments available ONLINE and in-person in Adare, Newcastle West, Limerick, Abbeyfeale, Charleville, Kanturk, Midleton, Youghal, Cork, Dublin, and Dungarven.
Book a Consultation Now ›
FAQ – some frequently asked questions
1. Can a Registered Nutritionist help with high cholesterol?
Yes. Nutritionists assess diet, liver health, and metabolic factors that influence cholesterol. Personalised plans can reduce cholesterol naturally and safely.
2. How do Nutrition Services differ from dieting?
Nutrition Services focus on sustainable metabolic health, hormone balance, and realistic eating — not deprivation or calorie counting.
3. Can Counselling help lower cholesterol?
Yes. Chronic stress affects hormone and liver function. Counselling or Psychotherapy helps calm stress-related behaviours such as overeating or drinking.
4. What foods lower cholesterol naturally?
Fibre-rich foods like oats, beans, lentils, fruit, and vegetables, plus omega-3 fats from oily fish and olive oil.
5. Is alcohol linked to high cholesterol?
Yes. Alcohol raises triglycerides and can increase liver fat. Reducing intake often improves blood results within weeks.
6. Can nutrition help during menopause?
Definitely. Falling oestrogen can raise LDL cholesterol. A Registered Nutritionist can help balance hormones and support heart health through diet.
7. How long before results appear?
Most people notice improvement in 8–12 weeks with consistent nutrition, reduced alcohol, and stress support.
References
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Cardiovascular disease: risk assessment and reduction. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg181
- British Heart Foundation. Cholesterol and triglycerides explained. https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport
- NHS. Cholesterol levels and heart health. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/high-cholesterol
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Fats and cholesterol. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource
- Mayo Clinic. Cholesterol: Top foods to improve your numbers. https://www.mayoclinic.org
- European Society of Cardiology. Guidelines for dyslipidaemias. https://www.escardio.org
- The Lancet. Cholesterol and cardiovascular disease: evidence from meta-analyses. https://www.thelancet.com
- BMJ. Dietary fats and cardiovascular disease risk. https://www.bmj.com
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Effects of dietary fibre on cholesterol metabolism. https://academic.oup.com/ajcn
- Nutrients. The role of polyunsaturated fatty acids in lipid regulation. https://www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients
- Journal of Hepatology. Liver metabolism and lipid regulation. https://www.journal-of-hepatology.eu
- Clinical Nutrition. Impact of dietary patterns on liver health. https://www.clinicalnutritionjournal.com
- Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Dietary interventions for dyslipidaemia. https://www.cochranelibrary.com
- Nature Reviews Endocrinology. The link between thyroid and lipid metabolism. https://www.nature.com
- Journal of Nutrition. Brassica vegetables and liver detoxification enzymes. https://academic.oup.com/jn
- Nutrients. Alcohol metabolism and liver function. https://www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients
- Gut. Microbiota and cholesterol metabolism. https://gut.bmj.com
- Circulation. HDL function and cardiovascular protection. https://www.ahajournals.org
- BMJ Open. Lifestyle interventions and lipid outcomes. https://bmjopen.bmj.com
- Frontiers in Nutrition. Dietary patterns and cholesterol management. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition
Educational disclaimer:
This article is for general educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment. Always seek guidance from your GP or a registered healthcare professional before making significant health or medication changes.