A big issue that a lot of people, especially as we age, have to worry about is high cholesterol. High cholesterol can cause a lot of related health issues. Most dangerously, it can cause heart attacks and strokes. So, keeping cholesterol low should be a top priority for everyone.
Now, there is medication that you can take to keep your cholesterol levels low, but you can also go on a cholesterol-lowering diet.
There are numerous diets out there dedicated to helping to keep cholesterol low. One example of such a diet is called the TLC diet. The TLC diet (the TLC stands for therapeutic life changes) is intended to help people keep their cholesterol at manageable levels. Is the TLC diet worth it? We are going to examine the TLC diet in more depth in this review.
Key Features
- Intended to achieve noticeable decreases in cholesterol levels within a short time frame.
- Very strict diet with a big focus on counting calories and fat content.
- Diet contains relatively little meat, but a lot of fruits and vegetables.
Pros
The diet is primarily focused on reducing high cholesterol, which makes it great for those who may not be hugely overweight, but who may have urgent cholesterol issues that need to be addressed. It also has a fairly good food selection. You can eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Your meat options are a bit limited, but outside of that, you have plenty of food options.
The diet as a whole is very effective at what it claims to do. If it is followed precisely, then you will see a noticeable reduction in cholesterol levels.
Cons
One big issue with this diet is that it is not really meant for helping people lose weight. People who are really overweight will likely shed quite a few pounds on this diet, but people who are only slightly overweight will struggle to lose those last couple of pounds using this diet. Now, those who are just looking to lower their cholesterol will not mind this, but those who are looking to do both might need to go and find another diet plan.
Another issue with this diet plan is that it is relatively difficult to follow. You have to carefully inspect everything you eat in order to make sure that fat content and calorie content are low enough. The diet is thus best accompanied with a pre-planned meal guide that contains low cholesterol meals.
Another problem with the TLC diet is the rather recent findings that no or low fat diets can be detrimental to your health. Our bodies (and brains) actually need an abundance of good fats. It has been shown that the problem with clogged arteries is not a result of ingestion of cholesterol itself, but of the inflammation in the body caused by eating refined sugar and processed foods where the cholesterol is just trying to patch and fix damaged arterial walls.
