Do you have high cholesterol? Scientists reveal key nutrients you need to slash your risk of death by 20%

Even more impressive, their risk of dying from cardiovascular disease dropped by 27 per cent, while cancer deaths fell by 28 per cent.

It turns out vitamin E emerged as the real star of the show, offering the strongest protective benefits among all the antioxidants studied.

The findings, published in Scientific Reports, tracked over 25,000 American adults with high cholesterol for nine years.

Scientists tracked 25,383 adults aged 18 and older who'd been diagnosed with high cholesterol through lab tests, self-reports or medication use.

They measured antioxidant intake using something called the Composite Dietary Antioxidant Index, which looks at six key nutrients from food: zinc, selenium, carotenoids, and vitamins A, C and E.

Participants completed two dietary interviews - one face-to-face and another by phone, a few days later.

Researchers then grouped people into four categories based on their antioxidant scores, from lowest to highest intake.

The team followed participants for a median of 111 months, adjusting their analysis for factors like age, education, smoking habits and overall diet quality.

During the follow-up period, 3,810 people died from all causes, with 1,218 cardiovascular deaths and 883 cancer deaths recorded, demonstrating that those eating the most antioxidants fared significantly better.

When scientists looked at individual nutrients, vitamin E proved particularly powerful in reducing mortality risks across the board. The other antioxidants showed weaker or mixed results.

Researchers also discovered that people consuming more antioxidants had lower inflammatory markers in their blood.

This suggests antioxidants might protect health partly by fighting inflammation, though this explained only a small portion of the benefits - roughly one per cent to four per cent of the protective effect.

So what should you eat if you have high cholesterol? Vitamin E-rich foods are your best bet - think almonds, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, spinach, broccoli, kiwi and mango. Since vitamin E absorbs better with fat, drizzle some olive oil on that spinach salad.

For broader antioxidant benefits, fill your plate with colourful produce. Sweet potatoes, carrots and bell peppers provide carotenoids. Citrus fruits, strawberries and Brussels sprouts deliver vitamin C. Brazil nuts offer selenium, while beans and whole grains supply zinc.

The key is variety - a diet packed with vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and whole grains naturally provides the antioxidants that work together to support your health.