Approximately 16.3 percent of adults in the United States have high cholesterol, defined as having total cholesterol levels over 240 mg/dL, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The National Cholesterol Education Program, or NCEP, designed three diets to help treat high cholesterol: NCEP I, NCEP II and the Therapeutic Lifestyle Change, or TLC diet.
NCEP Diet Requirements
The NCEP 1 diet limits saturated fat to 10 percent of total calories, while the NCEP II diet and the TLC diet, which replaced the NCEP II diet, limit saturated fat to 7 percent of total calories. The NCEP diets also limit total fat to 25 to 35 percent of calories, sodium to less than 2,400 mg per day and cholesterol to less than 200 mg per day. Only consume enough calories on the NCEP diet to maintain or achieve a healthy weight.
Effectiveness
The NCEP II diet may help you lose weight and lower your cholesterol and triglyceride levels, according to a study published in the "Journal of Nutrition" in March 1998. However, HDL, or good cholesterol, also decreased in those following the NCEP II diet. Some people may need to consume more fiber if limiting fat and cholesterol does not lower cholesterol levels enough.
Compared to Other Diets
The NCEP diet is not the only diet that can lower cholesterol levels and help you lose weight, and may not even be the best diet for this purpose. A study published in "Obesity" in 2007 found that following a low-fat vegan diet may help you lose more weight than following the NCEP II or TLC diet, and another study published in the "Archives of Internal Medicine" in 2004 found that a modified low carbohydrate diet containing more protein, complex carbohydrates and monounsaturated fat but less carbohydrates overall than the NCEP II diet also might lead to more weight loss than the NCEP II diet.
Considerations
Men may experience more health benefits from the NCEP diet than women, because the HDL, or good, cholesterol levels of men decrease less than those of women following the NCEP diet, according to research published in October 2004 in the "Archives of Internal Medicine". Because having low HDL levels also increases your risk for heart disease, women should have these levels measured regularly to ensure they do not become too low while following the NCEP diet.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Cholesterol
- National Heart Lung and Blood Institute: Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) Diet
- "Journal of Nutrition"; An NCEP II Diet Reduces Postprandial Triacylglycerol in Normocholesterolemic Adults; Michael Miller, et al.; March 1998
- "Obesity"; A Two-Year Randomized Weight Loss Trial Comparing a Vegan Diet to a More Moderate Low-Fat Diet; Gabrielle M. Turner-McGrievy, et al.; 2007
- "Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology"; Differential Effect of National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Step II Diet on HDL Cholesterol, Its Subfractions, and Apoprotein A-I Levels in Hypercholesterolemic Women and Men After 1 Year: The beFIT Study; Carolyn E. Walden, et al.; 2000
- "Archives of Internal Medicine"; The National Cholesterol Education Program Diet vs a Diet Lower in Carbohydrates and Higher in Protein and Monounsaturated Fat; Y. Wady Aude, MD, et al.; 2004
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