In most cases, the first thing a person with high cholesterol should do is change his or her diet. An eating plan for someone attempting to reduce cholesterol should include:
Limiting the amount of cholesterol and saturated fat.
Eating only enough calories to achieve or maintain a healthy weight.
Increasing the soluble fiber in the diet. For example, kidney beans, oatmeal, and apples are good sources of soluble fiber.
A specific diet designed to control cholesterol (called the TLC diet) has been shown to decrease LDLcholesterol levels(see Low Cholesterol Diet). This is a low-saturated-fat, low-cholesterol eating plan that calls for less than 7 percent of calories from saturated fat and less than 200 mg of dietary cholesterol per day. The TLC diet recommends only enough calories to maintain a desirable weight and avoid weight gain.
If your LDL is not lowered enough by reducing your saturated fat and cholesterol intake, the amount of soluble fiber in your diet can be increased. Certain food products that contain plant stanol or plant sterols (for example, cholesterol-lowering margarines) can also be added to the TLC diet to boost its LDL-lowering power (see Cholesterol Lowering Food).
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