Brought to you by Benecol

Let's keep our hearts healthy.

We're all trying our best to stay healthy so that we can get the absolute most out of life. A lot of people don't think about high cholesterol from an early age, it's widely assumed that if you're young and healthy and exercise (semi) regularly it can't affect you, that's not the case. What is cholesterol? The word is thrown around so often, but do we even know what it means? Cholesterol is a waxy substance found in your blood. Your body needs cholesterol to build healthy cells so it's not a bad thing, but high levels of cholesterol can increase your risk of heart disease by developing fatty deposits in your blood vessels. Shockingly enough, 1 in 10 Irish people suffer from high cholesterol and it's one of the main risk factors for Cardiovascular Disease - the most common cause of death in Ireland, accounting for 36% of all deaths. Who does it affect?  It affects men and women, as well as people in their 20s and 30s, high cholesterol is way more common than you think but have no fear, there are simple changes to help keep your cholesterol under control. In times gone by, a huge amount of that messaging came with restrictions - in order to feel healthy, you're expected to cut things from your diet that you love, yes... we are of course talking about cheese. The good news! We're here to deliver some FANTASTIC news, Benecol has just launched a new soft cheese, with has unique cholesterol-lowering benefits to brighten your day. What benefits are we talking about? We hope you'd ask that - the secret ingredient we're talking about is plant stanols. What are plant stanols and why should we care?  Plant stanols are naturally found in some plant foods and added to others, including Benecol, in order to utilise their cholesterol controlling attributes. Plant stanols themselves are actually quite similar to cholesterol and it's this similarity in the structure that's responsible for the benefits achieved by adding plant stanols to our diet. The plant stanols found in Benecol's new soft cheese are proven to lower cholesterol and did we mention that the product is absolutely delicious? If you're concerned about your cholesterol levels make the change to Benecol and eat delicious cheese, safe in the knowledge that you're making a healthy choice for you and your heart. We're sold! For more information on Benecol and to take a look at their full healthy-eating product range, simply press HERE, plus you can check them out on Facebook HERE and on Instagram HERE. Plant stanol ester has been shown to lower cholesterol. High cholesterol is a risk factor in the development of coronary heart disease. The beneficial effect has been shown with a daily intake of 1.5-3.0g plant stanols. Brought to you by Benecol