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Cobh redidents reduce their cholesterol after 3 week challenge

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town92% of Cobh residents reduce their cholesterol after completing 3 week ‘It Takes A Town’ challenge with Flora pro.activ

The people of Cobh in Co. Cork have collectively reduced their cholesterol as part of a public health initiative introduced by Flora pro.activ.

92% of the 62 residents who successfully completed the three week cholesterol reduction programme, were delighted to learn that they had lowered their cholesterol level through simple dietary and lifestyle changes.

The ‘It Takes A Town’ challenge, which had been successfully implemented in other countries such as Australia, Spain, Germany and Greece, was launched in Cobh in January and ran for three weeks. Cobh native and Olympic athlete, Sonia O’ Sullivan and local celebrity chef, Martin Shanahan, were active supporters of the campaign, lending their personal expertise on fitness and healthy eating to the people of Cobh, during the three week period.

Everyone who took part had the opportunity to receive one-to-one nutrition consultations, healthy recipe tips and the chance to engage in a range of free fitness activities. Participants also received a three-week supply of Flora pro.activ products and guidance on how to best use them throughout the challenge.

Many adults in Ireland do not realise that they have raised cholesterol or know that their blood cholesterol number should be below the magic number of ‘5’ (5mmol/l). To address this, and to inspire people across the country to take action, Flora pro.activ invited the residents of Cobh to take part in the ‘It Takes A Town’ challenge to lower their cholesterol level*.

Sonia O’Sullivan commented: “I’m delighted to see that my local community have been successful in reducing their cholesterol levels. High cholesterol can cause heart disease, which is a common and often life altering disease. We had a host of really great activities lined up over the last three weeks, so I’m thrilled to see that all the hard work has paid off. It’s been wonderful being home in Cobh helping my friends and neighbours to reduce their cholesterol. Cobh has proven itself to be a little town with a big heart!”

Well-known chef and Cork man Martin Shanahan has been out and about in Cobh performing cooking demonstrations to show everyone just how easy it is to create simple, heart-healthy dishes. “I was delighted to be asked to be involved with this campaign as I am passionate about healthy eating. It was great to demonstrate that by making some really simple changes to your diet and how you cook your food, it’s possible to reduce cholesterol.”

Suzanne O’Hara, Marketing Manager, Flora pro.activ added: “We are delighted to see that the residents of Cobh have risen to the ‘It Takes A Town’ challenge, with a fantastic 92% successfully lowering their cholesterol. We hope that the rest of the country will be inspired by Cobh’s experience and will realise that they too can make a big difference to their heart health through small diet and lifestyle changes. I’d personally like to congratulate the people of Cobh on their achievement and to applaud them for their commitment over the past three weeks. It has been an honour to support them in completing the Flora pro.activ three week challenge.”

Nutritionist Dr. Sinead O’Brien, who provided dietary advice during the challenge, commented: “Cutting back on saturated fats, introducing cholesterol lowering foods into the diet and getting more active is easier
than people think, and fun when you do it together! The fantastic result in Cobh further reinforces the scientific research supporting the efficacy of the natural plant sterol ingredients found in Flora pro.activ products. A healthy community is a happy community and I hope that Cobh will inspire the rest of Ireland to take up the Flora pro.activ Cholesterol Challenge.”

Anyone interested in starting their own cholesterol-lowering journey is invited to apply for a Flora pro.activ Starter Kit by visiting www.flora.com.

The Starter Kit is packed with useful cholesterol information, recipe ideas and a product voucher.

Community members in the ‘It Takes A Town’ challenge were recruited through a number of criteria set by independent medical professionals (including their current cholesterol level). At the start and end of the challenge, cholesterol was tested by trained healthcare professionals and nutritional guidance was provided to every individual who took part.

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