A month ago, I received news that a former colleague of mine collapsed in his office, and had a sudden massive heart attack and did not survive the night to see his family. He was in his early fifties.

This incident motivated another former colleague to have his blood checked for cholesterol. The cardiologist recommended immediate hospitalisation and he was operated on for a triple coronary bypass within days. Without that bypass, this friend would likely encounter a fatal massive coronary heart attack.

These two ghastly incidents jarred me into researching ways to bring down my own level of cholesterol, and to read medical books on cholesterol.

In my research, what amazed me was there were safe and effective ways to lower blood cholesterol and hence reduce the probability of a heart attack.

I was encouraged that it was possible to cut the risk of heart attack by more than half by limiting the amount of cholesterol produced by the body, and increase the amount of cholesterol eliminated by the body.

I discovered a fascinating diet of oatbran and a vitamin called Naicin that was being used by hundreds of concerned individuals throughout the world, popularized by the medical writer Robert E. Kowalski in his program and best-seller "The 8-Week Cholesterol Cure".

Oatbran contains soluble fibre that encourages the liver to produce bile acids. The more oatbran that is consumed, the more bile acids are produced, and excreted from the body. These bile acids draw the cholesterol from the blood, and therefore remove the cholesterol from the body when they are excreted. This means the chances for a congested artery is much reduced.

I was encouraged by the numbers. A study showed that six males who ate a high-fibre diet containing 50 grams of oat bran daily were able to maintain a 23.5 % decrease from their original cholesterol levels.

To me this was a convenient and natural strategy to reduce my personal cholesterol. It was a matter of getting down to the supermarket and to buy a packet of 500 grams oatbran.

By taking half a cup of oatbran a day, which is equivalent to some 50 gram of oatbran, a single packet of 500 grams will last me for around 2 weeks.

Now, I am not a great baker, and so I did not start by making oatbran muffins which is actually a great way to consume the oatbran. Instead, I mix the oatbran in a hot chocolate drink, consuming 25 grams of oatbran twice a day to get the 50 grams of oatbran.

As for the vitamin Naicin, I was encouraged that as far back as in 1975 the United States Coronary Drug Project singled out Naicin as being responsible for a 29 percent reduction in nonfatal heart attacks.

I have Naicin in the multivitamins I consume daily, and so I am not opting for single larger intake of this vitamin, and will prefer to let the soluble fibre of the oatbran to do its work.

It took one fatal case of a heart attack and a triple coronary bypass on another friend of mine to jolt me into serious action to take control of my cholesterol.

It is time to take some action to lower your cholesterol if you have been postponing this. Of course, you may opt for exercise and a balanced diet as well. It is never too late to begin a structured personal program to take control of your cholesterol.