Created by the United States National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the plan focuses on helping people make healthy food choices, be physically active, and prevent heart disease.
Designed as a way to control cholesterol, the TLC diet can also help you lose weight and reduce your risk of other chronic diseases. Following the diet means following the exact percentage of macronutrients that are consumed daily. No food group is prohibited, but you may need to use a calculator to make sure you are consuming the correct balance of carbohydrates, protein, and fat.
That is the proper division of what you eat:
25-35% of your daily calories should come from fat. As for the types of fat, less than 7% of your daily calories should come from saturated fat. Up to 10% of your daily calories should come from polyunsaturated fat, and about 20% of your total calories should come from monounsaturated fat.
50-60% of your daily calories should come from carbohydrates, with 20-30 grams per day of dietary fiber.
About 15% of your daily calories should come from protein.
Less than 200 mg per day of cholesterol is allowed.
Sweets and desserts are allowed, but in moderation.
Allowed foods
– Fruit: two to four servings a day
– Vegetables or beans: three to five servings a day
– Grains, such as rice and whole wheat: six or more servings per day
– Low-fat or fat-free dairy products: two to three servings a day
– Lean meat, fish or poultry: 150 grams or less per day (about the size of two eggs)
– Unsaturated fats / oils: in moderation based on your caloric needs
– Dessert: Only sweets with little saturated fat, such as whole frozen yogurt.
– TLC also advises at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity, such as brisk walking, every day of the week.
What to avoid
Saturated fat, present in foods such as red meat, butter, cheese, and whole milk. The same is true for foods high in trans fat, such as fast food, fried foods, processed sweets, and cookies.
Both saturated fat and trans fat increase your LDL cholesterol count, not to mention your total caloric intake. Alcohol is also on the watch list because it is linked to high levels of triglycerides, another type of fat that plays a role in heart disease.
The diet also recommends reducing sodium to less than 2,300 mg per day, or about a teaspoon of salt.
Advantages and disadvantages
Since 20-30 grams of fiber per day is recommended, all healthy carbohydrate-rich foods such as vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, and whole grains are recommended. This is also in line with the 200 mg per day limit for cholesterol, as vegetables do not contain cholesterol. And eating up to 20% of calories from monounsaturated fat gives the TLC diet some alignment with the Mediterranean diet considered one of the healthiest today.
However, some professionals have reservations about the high percentage of calories from carbohydrates and the low amount of protein. Additionally, foods high in cholesterol that should be avoided on this diet, such as eggs, may contain nutrients that protect health, including anti-inflammatory vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids.
Do you lose weight on the TLC diet?
Weight loss isn’t the goal, but a daily fiber intake of 20 to 30 grams can help you lose weight if your current intake is closer to the current national average of 15 grams.
A recent report from the World Health Organization found that higher fiber intake is associated with lower body weight, and there is an advantage: for every 8g increase in dietary fiber per day, total deaths and the incidence of disease heart disease, type 2 diabetes and colorectal cancer decrease by up to 27%.
