If you're trying to lose weight or get healthy, you have diet choices that can lower your cholesterol and leptin. Cholesterol is associated with your risk factor for heart disease, while leptin is a hormone that regulates your appetite. Both are necessary for your body to function, but excess levels can be a sign of poor health.
Lyon Diet
The Lyon Diet is based on the American Heart Association's Step I diet that's designed to reduce LDL and triglycerides, while raising HDL cholesterol. Subjects follow a Mediterranean-style diet that includes seafood and lean meats, olive oil, fruits, vegetables, bread and some wine. The diet restricts the amount of red meats, butter, sugars and processed foods. According to the American Heart Association, the Lyon Diet reduces the risk of heart disease by 50 to 70 percent.
Atkins Diet
Dr. Eric Westman of Duke University conducted a study on the effectiveness of the Atkins Diet on cholesterol and weight loss, and presented his findings to the American Heart Association. The Atkins Diet followed in the study required subjects to eat no more than 20 grams of carbs per day, and to get 60 percent of their calories from fat, according to USA Today. Subjects who followed the Atkins Diet found their triglycerides decreased more than twice the amount of subjects on the American Heart Association diet, with a 49 percent reduction compared to a 22 percent reduction, respectively.
Leptin Diet
The Leptin Diet is intended to lower cholesterol and trigger weight loss by reducing the hormone leptin. There are five rules to the Leptin Diet. You should not eat any snacks after dinner; eat three meals per day with no snacks in between and at least five hours before the next meal; make sure your meals are small; reduce your total carbs per day; and eat a breakfast with significant amounts of protein. The smaller portions and breaks between meals allow your leptin levels to recede and eliminate any calories from snacking.
