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Information about cholesterol
  Lipid disorders
  Blood testing
  Risks and goals
  Treatments:
    Diet
    Exercise
    Medication
  Children
  Glossary

Dietary Treatment for Lipid Disorders

For most people, diet and exercise changes are the first step in treating high cholesterol and other lipid disorders. Research has shown that for many individuals a heart healthy diet brings high blood lipids into the normal range.

Evaluate Your Diet

Use our short questionnaire, the Fat Intake Scale, to help determine if your diet is high in fat and cholesterol.

Choose Heart Healthy Foods

1. Replace high dairy fat choices such as butter, ice cream, cheese, and 2% or whole milk with non fat and lower fat dairy products.

2. Replace high meat fat choices such as sausage, regular ground beef, ribs, or fried chicken with smaller portions of extra lean meat, skinless chicken, and seafood.

3. Make a point of eating fish, especially higher fat fish such as salmon, one to two times per week, as it provides healthy fats that help regular heart rhythm.

4. Avoid partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. The main sources are stick margarines and shortening in foods such as french fries, chips, cookies, other bakery items, and deep fried foods.

5. Increase whole grains, such as whole grain breakfast cereal, oatmeal, brown rice, and whole grain bread.

6. Increase legumes such as lentils, split peas, chili beans, and fat free refried beans.

7. Increase vegetables and fruits, including fresh, frozen, dried, and canned.

8. As your energy needs allow, include liquid oils (olive, canola, corn, soybean oil, in regular salad dressing and for cooking), nuts, peanut butter, avocados. These foods are high in calories, but do not raise LDL cholesterol.

TLC (Therapeutic Lifestyle Change)

The National Institutes of Health National Cholesterol Education Program recommends "TLC, " which stands for dietary changes described in the chart below, plus weight management and regular physical exercise. 

Although it is difficult to determine percents of total calories in your diet, the food choices listed above will move your diet in the right directions.