Last week, I promised I would tell you how to lower your cholesterol naturally.

Recently, two of my patients have succeeded in reducing their cholesterol levels by natural means. A 32-year-old woman whose cholesterol was around 7mmols, which is quite high, brought it down to 5.3mmols in four months by doing exercise, yoga, undergoing a liver detox and eating lots of vegetables.

Why did this work?

Many people do not know that most of the body's cholesterol is actually manufactured in the liver from fats. The rest is absorbed from the food we eat and is transported to the liver.

Thus, in my view, maintaining a healthy liver with a regular detox is the key to lowering your cholesterol, in addition to eating the right diet with a healthy lifestyle.

Another important factor is negative emotions. I have observed that anxiety, stress of any kind and depression can elevate your cholesterol.

Try to maintain a balance of your emotions. We all suffer from anxiety and worry and depression from time to time.

Try and come to terms with life and make it a point to enjoy time with friends and family. Build up the happy molecules in your brain and body.

This will, in turn, reduce the stimulus to produce more cholesterol in the body.

It is vital to learn relaxation techniques. Ideally, you should go for a daily jog or regular aerobic exercise in the gym but not many people seem to be able to find the time or energy. I have developed three simple techniques you can use anywhere:

Deep yogic breathing, using the right technique, provides oxygen to your heart, liver and brain cells in addition to relieving stress. I call it: "Pay Your Body As You Earn."

Do a deep breathing exercise for one or two minutes every hour or two, not just in the morning or evening. In this way, you break down stress before it builds up.

Give yourself a good head and body massage to relieve tension and stimulate circulation. This can work as a cardiovascular exercise when combined with the Sun Salute yoga exercise which is quite simple to do.

Try and become a vegetarian. Avoid red meat and reduce fats and sugars. Eat a lot of green vegetables which contain folic acid, vitamin B and fibre, natural fibre such as oats and psyllum husk, nuts such as cashew and walnuts and olive oil for its unsaturated fats and essential fatty acids, also available from oily fish such as mackerel. (Visit the British Heart Foundation web site at www.heartuk.org.uk for further diet guidance.)

I prescribe trifala guggul made from the three myrobalan fruits and the resin of camiphora mukul as an anti-cholesterol, anti-obesity preparation.

Along with this, I prescribe pure extract of curcumin (turmeric root) for liver detox and pure psyllum husk to prevent absorption of fats from the gut.

Products are available at Planet Janet, 86 Church Road, Hove (01273 738389). For details of regular courses of Dr Jani's cardiovascular exercises, contact Wish House Clinic on 01273 430022.