Gloria Hunniford's story

TV favourite Gloria Hunniford describes how her husband's heart attack prompted her to focus on her own struggle with the silent killer cholesterol

When did you first discover you had high cholesterol?
When [my husband] Steven had his heart attack, two and a half years ago, it was like a warning and suddenly we were extremely conscious of our health. He was having one of his subsequent cholesterol tests and it just brought it home to me that we were at that age when we needed to start thinking about these things, so I had my cholesterol tested. I'm quite health conscious anyway, doing what I can, but my husband's scare just sharpened my focus on that 'silent killer' - your cholesterol level.

Steven and I had only been married for two and half years when he had his heart attack and he is and always was such a strong, fit healthy man; probably much more health conscious vis-a-vis diet and exercise than me. And it was a real shock when he had his heart attack. We thought it would never happen to him because he was so fit.

But then I discovered that he had lost three of his siblings in the last few years to heart-related illness, so it clearly runs in his family. But it doesn't ultimately mean that he will die of it.

Did you have any symptoms to alert you to your high cholesterol?
No. Because I was feeling more aware after Steven's heart attack I went off to the doctor's. I knew that the correct cholesterol reading was 5 or 5.2 and I was horrified to discover that mine was over 6. But then the doctor said, 'Well hang about, you can't just take a bald reading like that. You have to look at the ratio of good and bad cholesterol.'

That's why everyone has to consult a doctor to get a proper cholesterol reading and get the proper result. The question you should ask is what is the ratio of bad cholesterol to good cholesterol. Your body needs a certain amount of cholesterol.

Once you found out, did you immediately start making changes to your diet and lifestyle?Well we had already started making changes anyway, because of Steven's heart attack. At first the focus was on him and how he was doing, and it wasn't until later that I got around to thinking about it myself. So we had already started making changes to our diet, because before Steven left hospital he was given a list of instructions about what to eat and what not to eat.

One thing that really shocked me was that shellfish has very high cholesterol levels. I always thought that fish was fish and that it was all very good for you, and I didn't realise that shellfish wasn't good for you. It's the mackerel, tuna and salmon - that's what really does you good.

It was actually the heart surgeon who recommended that Steven have Benecol instead of butter. He said most people have to have fat of some sort, so make it something like Benecol, where you're taking advantage of all the properties of the plant extracts that had been proven to bring cholesterol down.

And the good thing is that Benecol don't just do butter, they do other dairy products like cream cheese, milk, yoghurt.

My adage in life is always to make things as easy for yourself as possible. I feel that if you're going to buy yoghurt, you might as well buy yoghurt that has some chance of doing you some good in terms of your cholesterol. Or milk - better to buy Benecol milk that's going to help bring your cholesterol down. These simple tricks just help to make life that bit easier. Or at least psychologically, you feel you're doing your best food-wise.

Did your whole family then follow your diet and lifestyle changes?
Well, my daughter Karen was always very health conscious - veggie and organic long before this - and I would have gone organic because of Karen more than anything else. She was the one who got us into juicing.

My son Michael is quite healthy in his eating habits anyway, and the same with my son Paul. They also take a lot of exercise. Because their father died instantly from a heart attack - sitting at the table drinking a cup of coffee - they are very aware of having to take care of their health.

I'm always trying to get them to do more though, and I'm trying to persuade Paul to get his cholesterol tested!

Do you think people understand the importance of being tested for high cholesterol?
I really don't think people are getting properly tested, because otherwise the surgeries would be swamped! What we're saying for Cholesterol Awareness Day is that if you've any history of heart attacks or strokes in your family, make sure you get a cholesterol test. I mean, I think everyone should have a test, but if you know it's there in your family medical history you have to make it a priority.

I really believe that people should be familiar with their family health history and I don't think people ask the questions before the older members die off. For example, we are a big family of strokes, my father died of strokes and also two aunts and a grandparent. On Steven's side of the family it always seems to be heart conditions.

My overall attitude to this is that your health is really in the lap of the gods, but there's an awful lot that you can do to help yourself. Information is a great thing to have, and you should do your checks regularly, whether it's a breast exam or cervical cancer check, or whether it's your cholesterol. You should have your annual maintenance - like an MOT.

Is exercise important to you?
Exercise is vital for many things, especially in relation to heart disease and osteoporosis. Not everyone wants to do set exercises or go to the gym, but then walking is one of the best forms of exercise. Just walk to the shops instead of taking the car - anything at all that just gets a bit of movement going.

I used to go to the gym three times a week and also play tennis and that was fantastic. In the gym, I had to find things that I really liked, for example I loved the walking machine and the bicycle - I found one with a fan on the front that kept you cool. But I hated all the rest, the weights and all that kind of stuff. I think you have to find an exercise that you enjoy, whether that's ballroom dancing, playing tennis, swimming - whatever - but exercising has to be fun or you'll never do it. And not that I'm making an excuse, but because I make five programmes a week there just is no time for tennis three times a week. I'm looking forward to going back to that.

How is your cholesterol now?
It's come down, but I would still like it to come down a little bit more. It's dropping all the time and I do get it checked really regularly. I have a slight thyroid problem too and cholesterol is linked to that so it's very important that I keep it in check.

Benecol Cholesterol Awareness Day (18th September 2002) is really to say, listen this is the silent killer. It's not like blood pressure where you'll get a sign. Unless you go and get a test, you don't know what your level is.

Have the information at your fingertips and take your health into your own hands - be prepared.

Visit www.benecol.co.uk