Heart disease is the primary cause of death for women and men in the U.S., accounting for 25 percent of all fatalities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Coronary artery disease is the most common type of heart disease, causing deaths in almost a half million people in 2005. People with heart disease can reduce the risk for surgery, heart attack, or death by lowering cholesterol and blood pressure through diet.
Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes Diet
The Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes Diet, sometimes called TLC, is for people with heart disease or at risk for developing it, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. The TLC Diet can help lower blood cholesterol levels to reduce the risk of heart attack and other heart complications. The TLC diet involves foods low in cholesterol and saturated fat. The TLC guidelines recommend a daily diet including less than 200 mg of dietary cholesterol, 25 to 35 percent of total calories from fat with less than 7 percent from saturated fat, less than 2,400 mg of sodium, 10 to 25 g of soluble fiber, and just enough calories to achieve or maintain a healthy weight.
Examples of foods in a TLC diet include less than 5 ounces of lean meat or fish per day, and less than two egg yolks per week, two to three servings per day of dairy with less than 1 percent fat, less than six to eight teaspoons of oil, more than six servings per day of whole grains, three to five servings per day of vegetables, and two to four daily servings of fruit, according to Health Castle Nutrition.
Mediterranean Diet
The Mediterranean diet can improve heart health, according to the Cleveland Clinic. This diet emphasizes an abundance of fresh food from plant sources such as vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, seeds, potatoes, olive oil, whole grain breads and cereals, with a minimal amount of processed foods. These foods are low in cholesterol and saturated fats, and high in fiber. The Cleveland Clinic reports that the Mediterranean diet has relative equivalence to the American Heart Association's Step II diet, now called the TLC diet, and to the drug lovastatin in lowering LDL cholesterol. Research by T.T. Fung published in "Circulation" in 2009 demonstrates that a Mediterranean diet lowers cardiovascular disease mortality from coronary heart disease and stroke.
DASH Diet
The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, or DASH eating plan, focuses on eating less sodium salt to reduce high blood pressure, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. While the average American consumes on average 4,200 mg of sodium per day, a diet of 2,300 mg can reduce blood pressure, and a recommended level of 1,500 mg or less can lower blood pressure further. The DASH eating plan consists of foods rich in potassium, magnesium and calcium and low in cholesterol, total fat and saturated fat. The recommended foods are fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, whole grains, fish and poultry.
References
- Centers For Disease Control and Prevention: Heart Disease Facts
- National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute: Introduction to the TLC Diet
- Health Castle Nutrition: TLC Diet -- a Diet for High Cholesterol, Heart Disease Recommended by AHA
- The Cleveland Clinic: Ask the Dietitian: Mediterranean Diet
- The Cleveland Clinic: Lipid-Lowering Strategies and Reduction of Coronary Heart Disease Risk
- "Circulation"; Mediterranean Diet and Incidence of and Mortality from Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke in Women; Fung, T.T., K.M. Rexrode, et al.; Mar 3 2009
