The TLC Program combines diet, physical activity, and weight management to help lower high blood cholesterol and improve heart health. The program starts with a heart-healthy diet and physical activity, while controlling other risk factors for heart disease such as smoking and high blood pressure.

As the program continues, LDL goals are created and monitored by you and your healthcare provider. The TLC diet is a heart-healthy eating plan that helps make choosing, preparing, and cooking foods easier and healthier. At the core of the TLC diet, it's important to:.

The TLC Diet pinpoints lowering daily intake of saturated fat because too much of this type of fat increases cholesterol in the blood, LDL cholesterol in particular. Limiting intake of foods rich in saturated fat also helps reduce intake of cholesterol from food.

To help lower cholesterol levels more, the TLC Diet recommends adding soluble fiber and plant stanols and sterols to daily meals. Soluble fiber blocks cholesterol and fats from being absorbed through intestinal walls into the bloodstream. As with soluble fiber, plant stanols and sterols help block the absorption of cholesterol from the digestive tract, which helps to lower LDL cholesterol.

Making these three important dietary changes daily are important for successfully following the TLC Diet to treat and lower LDL cholesterol. While the TLC Diet means eating well for good heart health, it also means learning how to eat well — in other words, how to best prepare or cook foods so that they are heart-healthy.

The TLC diet recommends limiting serving sizes or replacing foods high in saturated fat and cholesterol with healthier options. Fruits, vegetables, legumes beans and lentils , nuts, whole grains, low- or non-fat dairy products, fish, poultry without the skin, and in moderate amounts, lean meats are good options.

Salt-free spices and herbs can make your heart-healthy meals tasty. Lack of physical activity is a major risk factor for heart disease. Regular physical activity and reducing sedentary behavior can help with managing weight and, in that way, help lower LDL cholesterol.

It also can help raise HDL cholesterol and lower triglycerides , improve the fitness of the heart and lungs, and lower high blood pressure. Additionally, it can reduce risks for developing diabetes or, if already present, lessen the need for insulin.

Healthcare providers are important partners while treating high cholesterol. The better the communication with healthcare providers, the better the understanding about the treatment and how best to carry it out. This rule also applies to other health professionals who may join the treatment team.

Here are some pointers on how to make the partnership work well:. Overweight and obesity increase the chances for having high LDL cholesterol and developing high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, some cancers, and other serious health problems.

Excess weight around the waist also more likely leads to developing metabolic syndrome. Losing any extra weight reduces these risks and improves cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Diet changes and increasing physical activity can get LDL cholesterol and weight under control. At the start of the TLC Program, the main focus will be on lowering LDL cholesterol toward the goal level by making changes such as reducing saturated fat and calories and increasing fiber, which could also help with weight loss.

Making lifestyle changes is never easy, but adopting the TLC Program can help people live healthier, longer lives by lowering cholesterol and other risk factors and reducing the risk for heart disease.

Some tips to increase chances for success include:. Discuss plans with family and friends to get support. The TLC Program can be easy for the whole family to follow. Everyone can eat the same meals and have fun with physical activity. The TLC Program is a new way of living, not simply a quick fix.

Making it a lifestyle will help reach the goal of a lifetime of heart health. The TLC guide is a set of tools, including lifestyle changes and sample menus, you can use to help lower your cholesterol. What is Blood Cholesterol?

What is Metabolic Syndrome? Typically, there are no symptoms of high cholesterol. However, signs or symptoms of high cholesterol may include:. Eating foods with cholesterol may not raise your blood cholesterol levels.

Eggs may be part of a healthy, balanced diet. However, if you are at risk for cardiovascular disease, you may want to limit the number of eggs you eat each week. Exercise and weight loss can also help. Read this article in Spanish.

Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available. VIEW ALL HISTORY. This article is based on scientific evidence, written by experts and fact checked by experts.

Our team of licensed nutritionists and dietitians strive to be objective, unbiased, honest and to present both sides of the argument. This article contains scientific references. The numbers in the parentheses 1, 2, 3 are clickable links to peer-reviewed scientific papers. Men and women may experience different symptoms of a heart attack.

Coronary heart disease CHD is the leading cause of death among adults in the United States. Learn about the causes and risks factors of CHD. Follow these tips to prevent heart disease.

Discover 28 ways to power up, wind down, and have fun — all in the name of a healthy heart. Work these heart-healthy habits into your lifestyle. A Quiz for Teens Are You a Workaholic? How Well Do You Sleep?

Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Nutrition Evidence Based 10 Natural Ways to Lower Your Cholesterol Levels. Medically reviewed by Megan Soliman, MD — By Matthew Thorpe, MD, PhD and Karen Lamoreux — Updated on December 7, Eat monounsaturated fats Use polyunsaturated fats Limit trans fats Eat soluble fiber Exercise Keep a healthy weight Avoid smoking Drink in moderation Consider plant sterols Try supplements FAQ Takeaway Limiting saturated fats in your diet, along with getting regular exercise and engaging in other healthy practices, may help lower the amount of low-density lipoprotein LDL in your blood.

Focus on monounsaturated fats. Prioritize polyunsaturated fats, especially omega-3s. Limit trans fats. Eat soluble fiber. Maintain a healthy-for-you weight.

Avoid smoking. Consume alcohol in moderation. Consider plant sterols and stanols. Try supplements. Frequently asked questions.

How we reviewed this article: Sources. Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations.

We avoid using tertiary references. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

Dec 7, Written By Matthew Thorpe, Karen Lamoreux. Oct 12, Written By Matthew Thorpe, Karen Lamoreux. Share this article.

Evidence Based This article is based on scientific evidence, written by experts and fact checked by experts. More in Heart Health for Every Body What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Heart Attacks in Women? Causes and Risks of Heart Disease.

Ezetimibe Zetia is a different type of LDL-lowering drug. Taken as a pill, it lowers cholesterol by inhibiting its absorption in the small intestines.

Ezetimibe is mainly used as an add-on medication to statins to achieve further LDL lowering, or on its own in people who cannot tolerate statins. In older adults, ezetimibe alone was found to reduce cardiovascular events but not stroke. PCSK9 inhibitors are a newer class of cholesterol-lowering drugs.

They work by allowing more LDL receptors to remain in the liver, thus allowing the liver to sweep more LDL cholesterol out of the bloodstream. There are two PCSK9 inhibitors on the market, evolocumab Repatha and alirocumab Praluent , and both must be taken by injection every few weeks.

The clinical benefit of lowering LDL cholesterol in older adults has been a point of contention, because people ages 75 and older are not usually included in large numbers in clinical trials. Some have even argued that the risks of LDL-lowering treatment may outweigh benefits for older adults compared to younger adults.

But the evidence debunks this myth. Meta-analyses and clinical trials indicate that statin use is not associated with increased risk of muscle injury, cognitive impairment, cancer, or hemorrhagic stroke compared with those not using statins, regardless of age.

Likewise, in clinical trials, risk of liver or kidney injury is similar in people taking statins or a placebo, regardless of age. A prospective study evaluating liver safety in very elderly patients found statins to be safe overall in patients ages 80 and older.

Even if one type of statin causes side effects in a person, another statin may not. Statins can raise blood sugars, but this is unlikely to lead to type 2 diabetes in anyone not already at high risk for the condition. Similarly, ezetimibe use is largely safe, with diarrhea and upper respiratory infections being the most common side effects.

Notably, the safety profile for ezetimibe plus statins is the same as for statins alone, even in older adults. And finally, PCSK9 inhibitors have not been found to increase risk of diabetes, neurocognitive disorders, liver injury, or muscle injury.

The question remains: do the benefits of cholesterol-lowering treatments outweigh the risks for older adults? In a systematic review and meta-analysis published in The Lancet , researchers evaluated the clinical benefit of statin and non-statin cholesterol-lowering therapy for older adults. They did this by extracting and re-analyzing data from previous studies that had evaluated statin and non-statin cholesterol-lowering treatments.

The analysis included 21, patients ages 75 and older. Of these, The analysis above largely represented older patients with existing cardiovascular disease. There are ongoing trials that will help evaluate the utility of statins in older patients as a primary prevention for major cardiovascular events.

Follow me on Twitter HannaGaggin. Davis Kimaiyo, MD , Contributor. As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content.

Please note the date of last review or update on all articles. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.

Managing Your Cholesterol offers up-to-date information to help you or a loved one keep cholesterol in check. The report spells out what are healthy and unhealthy cholesterol levels, and offers specific ways to keep cholesterol in line.

It covers cholesterol tests and the genetics of cholesterol. The report also focuses on treatments based on the latest scientific evidence, including the pros and cons of statins and other medications, and provides the lowdown on other substances advertised to lower cholesterol.

Managing Your Cholesterol can also help you work with your doctor to individualize your treatment. Thanks for visiting. Don't miss your FREE gift. The Best Diets for Cognitive Fitness , is yours absolutely FREE when you sign up to receive Health Alerts from Harvard Medical School.

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For many recipes, use the specified amount of puree instead of oil. You can:. Some dishes, such as puddings, may result in a softer set. When it comes to cheeses used in recipes, you can substitute low-fat, low-sodium cottage cheese, part-skim milk mozzarella or ricotta cheese, and other low-fat, low-sodium cheeses with little or no change in consistency.

Let your cooking liquid cool, then remove the hardened fat before making gravy. Or use a fat separator to pour off the good liquid from cooking stock, leaving the fat behind.

Written by American Heart Association editorial staff and reviewed by science and medicine advisors. See our editorial policies and staff.

About Cholesterol. HDL, LDL Cholesterol and Triglycerides. Genetic Conditions. Causes of High Cholesterol. How To Get Your Cholesterol Tested. Prevention and Treatment of High Cholesterol.

Cholesterol Tools and Resources. Home Health Topics Cholesterol Prevention and Treatment of High Cholesterol Cooking to Lower Cholesterol.

A recipe for better heart health A heart-healthy eating plan can help you manage your blood cholesterol levels and reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke.

The simple cooking tips below will help you prepare tasty, heart-healthy meals that could help improve your cholesterol levels by reducing excess saturated fat and trans fat.

You can also look out for the Heart-Check mark on products at your grocery store. Reduce saturated fat in meat and poultry The American Heart Association recommends a diet that emphasizes fish and poultry and limits red meat. Here are some ways to reduce the saturated fat in meat: Select lean cuts of meat with minimal visible fat.

Lean beef cuts include the round, chuck, sirloin or loin. Lean pork cuts include the tenderloin or loin chop. Lean lamb cuts come from the leg, arm and loin.

Trim all visible fat from meat before cooking. Broil rather than pan-fry meats such as hamburger, lamb chops, pork chops and steak. Use a rack to drain off fat when broiling, roasting or baking.

Instead of basting with drippings, keep meat moist with wine, fruit juices or a heart-healthy oil-based marinade. Cook a day ahead of time. Stews, boiled meat, soup stock or other dishes in which fat cooks into the liquid can be refrigerated.

Later, remove the hardened fat from the top. When a recipe calls for browning the meat first, try browning it under the broiler instead of in a pan. Eat chicken and turkey rather than duck and goose, which are usually higher in fat. Choose white meat most often when eating poultry.

Remove the skin from chicken or turkey before cooking. If your poultry dries out too much, first try basting with wine, fruit juices or a heart-healthy oil-based marinade.

Or leave the skin on for cooking and then remove it before eating. Limit processed meats such as sausage, bologna, salami and hot dogs. Such foods are often high in sodium, too. Read labels carefully and eat processed meats only occasionally.

Eat less meat Try meatless meals featuring vegetables or beans.

Having excess weight or obesity can increase your risk of developing high cholesterol levels. Losing weight, if you have excess weight, can help lower your cholesterol levels. Overall, weight loss has a double benefit on cholesterol by decreasing harmful LDL and increasing beneficial HDL.

Consider working with a doctor to determine a nutrient-dense diet and sustainable weight management plan that works for you. Smoking tobacco increases the risk of heart disease in several ways, including:. Giving up smoking, if possible, can help reverse these harmful effects.

According to a review of studies , some research indicates that when consumed in moderation, alcoholic drinks can increase good HDL cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease.

Yet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC and AHA disagree. The AHA does not recommend drinking wine or any other alcoholic beverage specifically to lower your cholesterol or improve heart health. If you drink, the CDC suggests you consume only two drinks per day for males or one drink per day for females on days that you drink.

Multiple types of supplements show promise for managing cholesterol. Plant stanols and sterols are plant versions of cholesterol. According to a research review, clinical studies show that taking 1.

Small amounts of plant stanols and sterols are naturally found in vegetable oils and are added to certain oils and butter substitutes. You may also consider taking certain types of supplements.

But speak with a healthcare professional before starting or changing your supplement regimen. Although food companies often advertise products as being low in cholesterol, research from shows that dietary cholesterol has only a small influence on the amount of cholesterol in your body.

That said, some foods high in soluble fibers, omega-3 fatty acids, or monounsaturated fats may help lower cholesterol, including:. Typically, there are no symptoms of high cholesterol. However, signs or symptoms of high cholesterol may include:. Eating foods with cholesterol may not raise your blood cholesterol levels.

Eggs may be part of a healthy, balanced diet. However, if you are at risk for cardiovascular disease, you may want to limit the number of eggs you eat each week.

Exercise and weight loss can also help. Read this article in Spanish. Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

VIEW ALL HISTORY. This article is based on scientific evidence, written by experts and fact checked by experts. Our team of licensed nutritionists and dietitians strive to be objective, unbiased, honest and to present both sides of the argument.

This article contains scientific references. The numbers in the parentheses 1, 2, 3 are clickable links to peer-reviewed scientific papers. Men and women may experience different symptoms of a heart attack.

Coronary heart disease CHD is the leading cause of death among adults in the United States. Learn about the causes and risks factors of CHD. Follow these tips to prevent heart disease. Discover 28 ways to power up, wind down, and have fun — all in the name of a healthy heart.

Work these heart-healthy habits into your lifestyle. A Quiz for Teens Are You a Workaholic? How Well Do You Sleep? Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect.

Nutrition Evidence Based 10 Natural Ways to Lower Your Cholesterol Levels. Medically reviewed by Megan Soliman, MD — By Matthew Thorpe, MD, PhD and Karen Lamoreux — Updated on December 7, Eat monounsaturated fats Use polyunsaturated fats Limit trans fats Eat soluble fiber Exercise Keep a healthy weight Avoid smoking Drink in moderation Consider plant sterols Try supplements FAQ Takeaway Limiting saturated fats in your diet, along with getting regular exercise and engaging in other healthy practices, may help lower the amount of low-density lipoprotein LDL in your blood.

Focus on monounsaturated fats. Prioritize polyunsaturated fats, especially omega-3s. Research suggests that the fiber from avocados can improve HDL cholesterol levels and the quality of LDL cholesterol. Adding two servings of avocado per week to a heart-healthy diet can lower your risk of heart disease.

People tend to think of avocados in guacamole, which often is eaten with high-fat corn chips. Try adding avocado slices to salads and sandwiches or eating them as a side dish. Also try guacamole with raw cut vegetables, such as cucumber slices.

Replacing saturated fats, such as those found in meats, with MUFAs are part of what makes the Mediterranean diet heart healthy. Try using olive oil in place of other fats in your diet. You can saute vegetables in olive oil, add it to a marinade or mix it with vinegar as a salad dressing.

You can also use olive oil as a substitute for butter when basting meat or as a dip for bread. Extra virgin olive oil also reduces the risk of heart attacks. Sterols and stanols are substances found in plants that help block the absorption of cholesterol.

Foods that have been fortified with sterols or stanols are available. Margarines and orange juice with added plant sterols can help lower LDL cholesterol. It's not clear whether food with plant sterols or stanols lowers your risk of heart attack or stroke — although experts assume that foods that lower cholesterol do cut the risk.

Plant sterols or stanols don't appear to affect levels of triglycerides or of high-density lipoprotein HDL cholesterol, the "good" cholesterol. Whey protein, which is found in dairy products, may account for many of the health benefits attributed to dairy. Studies have shown that whey protein given as a supplement lowers both LDL and total cholesterol as well as blood pressure.

You can find whey protein powders in health food stores and some grocery stores. Getting the full benefit of these foods requires other changes to your diet and lifestyle. One of the most helpful changes is limiting the saturated and trans fats you eat. Saturated fats — such as those in meat, butter, cheese and other full-fat dairy products — raise your total cholesterol.

Trans fats, sometimes listed on food labels as "partially hydrogenated vegetable oil," are often used in margarines and store-bought cookies, crackers and cakes. Trans fats raise overall cholesterol levels. The Food and Drug Administration banned the use of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils in processed foods sold after January 1, There is a problem with information submitted for this request.

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Cholesterol: Top foods to improve your numbers. Products and services. Cholesterol: Top foods to improve your numbers Diet can play an important role in lowering your cholesterol.

By Mayo Clinic Staff. Thank you for subscribing! Sorry something went wrong with your subscription Please, try again in a couple of minutes Retry. Show references Tangney CC, et al. Lipid management with diet or dietary supplements. Accessed March 6, Your guide to lowering your cholesterol with therapeutic lifestyle changes.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Accessed March 8, Grundy SM, et al. Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Prevention and treatment of high cholesterol hyperlipidemia. American Heart Association. Feather A, et al. Lipid and metabolic disorders. Elsevier; Pacheo LS, et al. Avocado consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease in US adults.

Journal of the American Heart Association. Eating an avocado once a week may lower heart disease risk. Amirani E, et al. Effects of whey protein on glycemic control and serum lipoproteins in patients with metabolic syndrome and related conditions: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials.

Lipids in Health and Disease. doi: Hyperlipidemia adult. Mayo Clinic; Department of Health and Human Services and U. Department of Agriculture. Final determination regarding regarding partially hydrogenated oils removing trans fat. Food and Drug Administration. Mozaffarian D, et al.

Dietary fat. Accessed March 15, Mahmassani HA, et al. Avocado consumption and risk factors for heart disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.