Lulu health: Singer, 73, was at risk of ‘terrible’ illness after doctors warning
Lulu says she was 'always hungry' as a child in 1950s Britain
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
Having been in the limelight since the age of 15, the star started to feel conscious about her health and image. In an interview with Saga, the star admitted that she started to eat “brown rice to cleanse her system and mixed natural yoghurt and honey to put on her face,” at the age of 16. Using extravagant eye cream that you could only buy in LA at the time, and applying vitamin E capsules to her skin regularly, it is no wonder why the star still values her health and beauty regime well into her 70s. Every year since her mother passed away from stomach cancer the 73-year-old has health tests every year, one of which brought up a shocking discovery.
After sadly witnessing her father Eddie pass away from high cholesterol, she decided to monitor her own. But soon, the singer was told by her GP that she had “raised cholesterol”.
“That really frightened me, as it’s one of the biggest risk factors for coronary heart disease,” recalled the singer in an interview with the Daily Star.
“My father’s death – at the age of 71 – was terrible. I loved him dearly. He had worked in the meat market in Glasgow for years and was a great singer.
“Unfortunately, he didn’t really take care of his body and he’d had plenty of health warnings that he ignored.
“So even though I’ve always tried to look after myself, when I discovered that I had raised cholesterol, memories of my dad’s illness spurred me on and I made sure that I did something about it.”
If raised cholesterol wasn’t enough motivation, in the past, the singer has had a near-deadly battle with pneumonia, which she described as the “worst illness” she has ever had.
When talking to the Daily Mail, she said that at the time she thought that early pneumonia symptoms were a bad cough, until doctors said she “should have been thrown into hospital”.
Due to her health worries, Lulu first of all changed her diet, saying that she threw away ice-cream from the freezer and stopped eating butter in her sandwiches.
The NHS suggests eating foods that are high in unsaturated fats in small amounts to lower cholesterol. Unsaturated fatty foods include: oily fish, nuts, seeds, avocados and vegetable oils and spreads.
Understanding the importance of breakfast, and eating first thing in the morning, which has been linked to better memory and concentration, lower levels of “bad LDL cholesterol”, and lower chances of getting diabetes, heart disease, and being overweight, Lulu kicks off the day with a cup of hot water and lemon, a coffee and porridge, muesli and yoghurt.
“If I had to rate my health on a scale of one to 10, I’d give myself a nine. I’ve always taken care to exercise and to eat a good diet. I eat organic food, because there are so many chemicals in non-organic produce,” she added.
“I eat a lot of dark green leafy vegetables. Watercress and green bean soup is a favourite – I’ll even take a flask with me on tour. I also drink at least a litre and a half of water topped up with cranberry juice every day, and fresh ginger tea before I go on stage – it clears my vocal chords.
“But I believe in balance so if I fancy a bit of chocolate, I’ll have it and enjoy it. The danger point of the day comes around 4pm when I crave something sweet.
“Why should I deny myself? We all need little guilty pleasures in life, so I allow myself a wee slice of cake now and then.”
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) explains that high cholesterol can be caused by a number of things such as lifestyle habits or uncontrollable factors such as age and heredity.
But making simple changes like Lulu can help to lower your risk of heart and circulatory disease.
Knowing which foods are best for a cholesterol-lowering diet can be tricky. Foods that are high in saturated fats like fatty and processed meat, pies and pastry, butter, cream, and coconut oil are high in cholesterol and are best to be avoided.
Yet, surprisingly the following foods which contain dietary cholesterol, do not make a huge difference in the cholesterol in your blood:
- Eggs
- Shellfish – crab, prawns
- Offal – liver, liver pate, kidney.
In order to make it slightly easier, making these small changes in your diet can make a big difference to your cholesterol level:
- Swapping butter to vegetable oil spreads like sunflower, olive or rapeseed oil spreads
- Switching whole milk to skimmed milk
- Using natural yogurt instead of sour cream or double cream
- Replacing regular mince with leaner, lower fat options
- Swapping red or processed meat for fish, turkey or chicken without the skin, or plant-based proteins such as lentils, soya or Quorn
- Switch your crisps for unsalted nuts
- Having reduced fat cheese instead of regular cheese
- Ordering less takeaways. Instead try our healthy comfort foods for delicious heart-healthy options.
- Eating more fibre.
Regular exercise is also important as it helps your body to move the bad cholesterol to your liver where it can be removed from your system. Simple changes such as taking the stairs instead of a lift, doing yoga or pilates and going out for a brisk walk can all help to lower cholesterol and improve moods, which also makes healthier food choices easier.
Source: Read Full Article
