In 2005, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released a new set of dietary guidelines to help Americans reach and maintain a healthy body weight with better food choices and dietary practices. The guidelines include ways to eat a heart-healthy diet that can reduce blood cholesterol. Many diet plans follow the USDA guidelines, including Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes, the Mediterranean diet and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.
Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes
Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes follows recommendations from the National Cholesterol Education Program that were released in 2001 and endorsed by the American Heart Association. This diet says that dietary cholesterol intake should be less than 200 mg per day. Saturated fat intake should be less than 7 percent of total calories. Polyunsaturated fat intake can be up to 10 percent of total calories, and monounsaturated fat up to 20 percent of total calories. Total fat intake should be adjusted according to caloric needs. An overweight person should consume no more than 25 percent of total calories from fat. Meet these goals by eating less than 5 ounces of lean meat and fish or other protein each day. Limit eggs to less than two yolks per week with unlimited egg whites. Try nonfat or low-fat dairy products, limited to two or three servings per day. Eat six servings of bran and whole-grain cereals and breads. Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, preferably three to five servings of vegetables and two to four servings of fruits per day.
Mediterranean Diet
The Mediterranean diet is similar to the TLC diet with an emphasis on fruits, vegetables, bread, potatoes, beans, nuts and seeds. This includes three to five servings of vegetables every day, and two to four servings of fruits. The diet recommends six to 11 servings per day of bread, cereal, rice or pasta. Olive oil is the primary source of monounsaturated fat on this diet, and unlike saturated fat, it does not raise blood cholesterol levels. Dairy products are consumed in low to moderate amounts. Red meat is rarely eaten, perhaps once a month. Eggs are eaten no more than four times per week.
DASH Diet
Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension is a low-fat, low-cholesterol, low-sodium diet that emphasizes whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products. The DASH diet also lets you eat fish, poultry and legumes, and small amounts of red meat, sweets and fats. The Mayo Clinic says this diet not only helps treat or prevent high blood pressure, but it also may protect against osteoporosis, cancer, heart disease, stroke and diabetes. The DASH diet significantly reduces levels of total cholesterol and LDL, the bad cholesterol, according to J. Larry Durstine, author of "Action Plan for High Cholesterol." Durstine cites a study where people on this diet reduced their levels of blood cholesterol by 7 percent and levels of LDL by 9 percent.
References
- Health Castle: TLC Diet for High Cholesterol
- Mediterranean Health Network: The Mediterranean Diet
- Mayo Clinic: DASH Diet: Healthy Eating to Lower Your Blood Pressure
- "Action Plan for High Cholesterol"; J. Larry Durstine, Ph.D.; 2006
