BBC Morning Live’s Gethin Jones opened up about his lack of awareness regarding his recent high cholesterol diagnosis.
During the show on Thursday, co-host Sara Davies highlighted that over two in five individuals in England have high cholesterol, pointing out to Gethin: “Including you!”
Gethin acknowledged his condition saying: “Yeah, that’s right. I got diagnosed recently. We know it can cause heart disease in the future and strokes as well.”
He reflected on the importance of taking the matter seriously, adding: “It’s something you’ve really got to take seriously. I just had so many questions! I felt really uneducated.”
Gethin delved deeper into the issue, consulting experts for a special recorded piece on internal bodily effects of cholesterol and ways to decrease it.
In the feature, viewers learned of Gethin’s astonishment at his diagnosis given his healthy lifestyle that includes regular exercise, good eating habits and minimal drinking, reports Surrey Live.
He shared that it was his sister who recommended getting tested, noting his surprise at the results, he commented: “It was actually my sister who told me to get my cholesterol tested in the first place. I was surprised to hear that it was high.”
Gethin emphasised his desire to comprehend why his cholesterol level was elevated and how he could control it: He explained: “I’m someone who takes my health seriously, and I want a better understanding as to why my cholesterol is high and learn how to manage it.”
In conversation with Professor Peter Penson, Gethin learned an important fact: most cholesterol is internally generated, not derived from one’s diet. The professor explained: “It doesn’t come from our diet. It’s not a failure if you can’t get your cholesterol to the optimal levels with diet and lifestyle.”
The BBC presenter became acutely aware of the importance of diet and sought advice from a dietician to gain insight into dietary do’s and don’ts.
The dietician enlightened the TV star, telling him: “Not all ultra-processed foods are bad for us. In this case, they do indeed help to lower cholesterol. However, the jury is out on whether do they indeed reduce the risk of heart disease.”
She also informed Gethin that by making specific changes to his diet and retesting his blood in three months, he could potentially see a cholesterol reduction of 10-20 per cent, subject to other factors.
At the end of the segment, Gethin shared with Sara how enlightening his research had been and the key takeaways for him.
Reflecting on what he learned, Gethin remarked: “I hope that’s useful to people in the same situation. It’s those little things, you know. The rice and pasta for example, I used to get white rice and think it was lower in saturated fat than brown rice.”
Making a pledge to implement some changes, he added: “But, you look at fibre and it’s got almost three or four times more than the brown pasta or brown rice. Those little changes I’m going to try and make, and hopefully, I can reduce my cholesterol.”
Morning Live continues weekdays on BBC One from 9:30am