I tried heated Oat Drink or Milk today to wash down the shredded wheat. Mistake....

Hi, the oat drink is palatable, have tried it - and low in saturated fat. What's more, a 250 ml glass provides 1g of the 3g RDA of beta glucan! So a bowl of porridge and a glass of Oatly, or similar, hits the target. But it's really important to choose a product fortified with calcium.

My Oatly Organic doesn't so the quest continues.

I know that beta glucans are a good thing and that's why I eat porridge every day - and not Optivita. There's more beta glucans in porridge and it's less expensive.

But how do you get to the 3 grams recommended as necessary to reduce your bad cholesterol?

I know it sound like runny porridge but an oat drink, or milk, could just do the trick. I'm off to get some and will report back.

It was wet and dark in West London last night where a group of us stretched, stepped, walked and did all sorts of things my body hasn't been used to.

All my fellow participants were much more agile and fit than me and after 20 minutes my heart wasn't in it any more and I wanted to get home to the iPlayer. But they kept me going and I lasted till the end.

My blood pressure was checked both before and after the session which was reassuring.

And I'll be back, twice a week, where possible. At £4.50 per session it was good value.

I felt surprisingly good on the way home. Angina hadn't appeared......this time. But the trusty GTN Spray was in the holster just in case.

But are GPs aware of this facility? Do they inform angina patients? Not in my experience.

How much oat and barley do you have to include in a loaf to feel comfortable about labelling it as "Oat and Barley"?

Tesco's Finest has 2% barley and 5% oats. Not much there then!

But could they contain enough beta glucans to help you attain the RDA of 3gms?

1. Diet

I'm following a mix of the Ornish, Esselstyn and Portfolio diets. Strictly veggie and no dairy normally. Very little fat. A visit to Carluccios last week was a nightmare. Good service and great company. Appalling choice of food for me though. #notgoingback

Ornish and Esselestyn have both produced research that shows my sort of heart disease can be halted and reversed. 

2. My Angina Plan

My local Cardiac Rehab Unit is coming up trumps and helping me develop a plan that helps me manage the condition. More on that later in the month.

3. Exercise

From this week a proper planned exercise regime should kick in. It's difficult for angina patients to exercise when the pain kicks in with the slightest physical effort. However, my new mix of meds has helped. Why, oh why, has it taken over 3 years for this to be made available to me though?

4. Meds

There are so many scare stories on the net about side effects from medication, it's little wonder that many people stop taking them. Well I'm taking them because firstly there's no alternative and secondly the side effects have been minimal.