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Will I need a special diet?
Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) diet for high
cholesterol People have varying degrees of success in lowering their
cholesterol by changing their diets. People who have high cholesterol
because they eat too many fatty foods may be able to lower their
cholesterol 10% to 20% with diet changes alone, while others may
only achieve a 5% to 8% reduction. Those who are most successful
using diet changes to lower their cholesterol are those who lose
excess weight. Diet changes are usually the first step in lowering
cholesterol before medicines are added. The
Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) diet is recommended
by the National Cholesterol Education Program of the U.S. National
Institutes of Health. The diet's main focus is to reduce the amount
of saturated fat you eat because they elevate your cholesterol.
You can reduce the saturated fat in your diet by limiting the amount
of meat and milk products you consume.
Choose low-fat products from those food groups
instead. Replace most of the animal fat in your diet with unsaturated
fat, especially monounsaturated oils, such as olive, canola, or
peanut.
Monounsaturated fat lowers LDL ("bad") cholesterol
if it is substituted for saturated fat and keeps HDL ("good") cholesterol
up. The TLC diet calls for less than 7% of your daily calories to
come from saturated fat and that you eat no more than 200 mg of
dietary cholesterol per day.
However, the diet allows 25% to 35% of daily calories
from fat, mainly from unsaturated fat. 1 Most of the fat should
be monounsaturated, and only 10% should be polyunsaturated fat.
Your diet should include only enough calories to maintain your desired
weight and avoid gaining weight.
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Food group
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Number of servings
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Serving size
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Lean meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, and dry peas
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Limit to 5 ounces total per day
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- 5 ounces maximum per day of lean meat, poultry, or fish
- Substitute 1/2 cup dry beans or peas for 1 ounce of meat.
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Eggs
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Limit to 2 yolks per week
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1 whole egg. Egg whites or substitutes are not limited.
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Low-fat milk and milk products
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2 to 3 per day
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- 1 cup nonfat or 1% milk
- 1 cup nonfat or low-fat yogurt
- 1 ounce fat-free or low-fat cheese (3 grams of fat or
less per ounce)
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Fruits
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2 to 4 per day
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- 1 piece fruit, such as apple, orange, or banana
- 1/2 cup canned fruit
- 1 cup berries or melon
- 3/4 cup fruit juice
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Vegetables
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3 to 5 per day
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- 1 cup raw leafy greens
- 1/2 cup cooked or raw vegetables
- 3/4 cup vegetable juice
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Bread, cereals, pasta, rice, and other grains
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6 to 11 per day
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- 1 slice of bread
- 1/2 hot dog or hamburger bun, bagel, or English muffin
- 1 ounce cold cereal
- 1/2 cup cooked pasta, rice, noodles, or other grains
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Fat and oils
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6 to 8 per day
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- 1 teaspoon monounsaturated oil, such as canola, olive,
or peanut
- 1 teaspoon polyunsaturated oil, such as corn or safflower
- 1 teaspoon soft margarine (one that does not contain hydrogenated
oils)
- 1 tablespoon salad dressing
- 1 teaspoon mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons nuts or seeds
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Sweets and snacks
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Within calorie limit
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Choose snacks that are low in fat or are made with unsaturated
fat.
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- ********* Always CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR AND DIETICIAN first ********
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