Cholesterol is a substance in the blood and bile that helps us digest food properly, produce vitamin D and other hormones; In addition, it is the body itself that produces all the necessary cholesterol, but when its levels increase more than necessary, not so favorable changes can occur in our body.
For this reason, effective diets were created, such as the Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TCL) diet, designed to promote better heart health and reduce cholesterol levels by combining healthy eating patterns with lifestyle modifications and weight management strategies.
Find out all about the diet that could lower your cholesterol levels : the TLC diet, a diet that health experts rank as one of the best and most effective.
What is the TCL Diet?
The TLC diet was developed by the United States National Institutes of Health to help lower the risk of heart disease and stroke. It is a healthy eating plan, considered more of a lifestyle change, designed to improve heart health with the goal of minimizing total LDL (bad) cholesterol levels in the blood to keep arteries clear and optimize health from the heart.
How does the TCL diet work?
It works by combining components of diet and exercise to help protect the body against heart disease, and has been associated with reducing oxidative stress and many other benefits. For example, one study found that following the TLC diet for 6 weeks led to significant reductions in total cholesterol and triglyceride levels, especially in men. (Carrasco et al, 2003)
Following the TLC diet generally involves increasing your intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. These are naturally occurring compounds found in foods that have been shown to lower blood levels of LDL cholesterol (AbuMweis, Barake & Jones, 2008). It is also recommended to add 30 minutes of physical activity daily.
How to follow the TLC diet?
To effectively follow the TCL diet, certain guidelines must be implemented in daily life:
- Eat only enough calories to maintain a healthy weight.
- 25–35% of your daily calories should come from fat.
- Less than 7% of your daily calories should come from saturated fat.
- The intake of cholesterol in the diet should be limited to less than 200 mg per day.
- Aim for 10-25 grams of fiber a day.
- Consume at least 2 grams of plant sterols each day.
- Get at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity every day.
It is extremely important to limit foods high in fat and cholesterol such as fatty cuts of meat, dairy products, egg yolks and processed foods and keep them within the recommended daily amount: in this way the results will be more effective.
Benefits of the TLC diet
In addition to helping lower cholesterol levels, the TLC diet has been associated with a number of great, significant benefits for good health:
- Improves immune function: A small study in 18 people showed that following a TLC diet improved immune function in older adults with high cholesterol. (Ausman, Han, Leka, Lichtenstein and Meydani, 2003)
- Promotes Weight Loss: Regular exercise, keeping calorie intake under control, and increasing soluble fiber intake can be effective strategies to help promote sustainable weight loss.
- Stabilizes Blood Sugar: The TLC diet includes increasing your intake of soluble fiber, which decreases blood sugar absorption to help control blood sugar levels.
- Reduces oxidative stress: A study in 31 adults with diabetes showed that following a TLC diet high in legumes reduced oxidative stress, which is linked to the development of chronic diseases. (Azizi, Hosseinpour-Niazi and Mirmiran, 2017)
- Blood pressure reduction : Studies show that increasing your intake of soluble fiber can lower your systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels. (Arends, Grobbee, Geleijnse, Streppel and Veer, 2005; Ho et al., 2018)
Disadvantages of the TLC diet
Since implementing the TCL diet entails applying a set of strategies that turn out to be effective, this can be a useful tool to help improve heart health, however, it can be associated with some potential disadvantages.
It’s a diet that can be a bit difficult to follow to the letter, not to mention that several included guidelines may be based on outdated research, putting its need into question.
For example, the TLC diet recommends limiting cholesterol intake to less than 200 mg per day. Although dietary cholesterol was previously thought to play an important role in heart health, most research now shows that it has little or no effect on blood cholesterol levels for most people. (Berger, Jacques, Johnson, Raman and Vishwanathan, 2015)
Additionally, the TLC diet also recommends minimizing saturated fat in the diet. But if we look at it from another point of view, although saturated fats can increase levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol, research shows that they can also raise “good” HDL cholesterol in the blood, which can be beneficial. for heart health. (HuRonald, Krauss, Siri-Tarino and Sun, 2010)
Additionally, several major reviews have shown that reducing saturated fat consumption is not linked to a lower risk of heart disease or death from heart disease. (Angelantonio et al., 2014; Hooper et al., 2011)
References
- AbuMweis, S., Barake, R. and Jones, P. (2008). Plant sterols / stanols as cholesterol lowering agents: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Food and Nutrition Research . doi: 10.3402 / fnr.v52i0.1811
- Angelantonio, E., Butterworth, A., Chowdhury, R., Crowe, F., Danesh, J., Di Franco, O., Forouhi, M… and Warnakula, S. (2014). Association of Dietary, Circulating, and Supplement Fatty Acids With Coronary Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Annals of Internal Medicine . doi: 10.7326 / M13-1788
- Arends, L., Grobbee, D., Geleijnse, J., Streppel, M. and Veer, P. (2005). Dietary fiber and blood pressure: a meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials. Arch Intern Med. Doi: 10.1001 / archinte.165.2.150
- Ausman, L., Han, S., Leka, L., Lichtenstein, A. and Meydani, S. (2003). Effect of a therapeutic lifestyle change diet on immune functions of moderately hypercholesterolemic humans. Journal of Lipid Research . doi: 10.1194 / jlr.M300181-JLR200
- Azizi, F., Hosseinpour-Niazi, S. and Mirmiran, P. (2017). Therapeutic lifestyle change diet enriched in legumes reduces oxidative stress in overweight type 2 diabetic patients: a crossover randomized clinical trial. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. doi: 10.1038 / ejcn.2017.113
- Azizi, F., Hosseinpour-Niazi, S. and Mirmiran, P. (2017). Therapeutic lifestyle change diet enriched in legumes reduces oxidative stress in overweight type 2 diabetic patients: a crossover randomized clinical trial. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. doi: 10.1038 / ejcn.2017.113
- Berger, S., Jacques, P., Johnson, E., Raman, G. and Vishwanathan, R. (2015). Dietary cholesterol and cardiovascular disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition doi: 10.3945 / ajcn.114.100305
- Carrasco, W., Li, Z., Lamon-Fava, S., Lichtenstein, A., McNamara, J., Otvos, J., Ordovas, J. and Schaefer, E. (2003). Men and Women Differ in Lipoprotein Response to Dietary Saturated Fat and Cholesterol Restriction. The Journal of Nutrition. doi: 10.1093 / jn / 133.11.3428
- Ho, H., Jovanovski, E., Khan, K., Marques, A., Mejia, S., Sievenpiper, J., Vuksan, V. and Zurbau, A. (2018). The effect of viscous soluble fiber on blood pressure: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardivascular Diseases. doi: 10.1016 / j.numecd.2017.09.007
- Hooper, L., Thompson, R., Moore, H., Roberts, F., Sills, D., Smith, D. and Summerbell, C. (2011). Reduced or modified dietary fat for preventing cardiovascular disease. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. doi: 10.1002 / 14651858.CD002137.pub2
- HuRonald, F., Krauss, M., Siri-Tarino, P. and Sun, Q. (2010). Saturated Fatty Acids and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease: Modulation by Replacement Nutrients. Current Atherosclerosis Reports . doi: 10.1007 / s11883-010-0131-6
