The optimal dietary strategy to manage risk associated with various dyslipidemias.

A successful dietary strategy should reduce coronary heart disease (CHD) endpoints, improve correctable risk factors for CHD, and provide for an overall healthful lifestyle. The therapeutic diet achieves a lowering of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol by limiting saturated fat and dietary cholesterol, avoiding an increase in trans fatty acids, and incorporates the use of dietary adjuncts such as an increase in dietary viscous fiber and dietary plant stanol/sterol esters. For those with elevated triglycerides and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, impaired fasting glucose, increased waist circumference and other stigmata of the metabolic syndrome, individualized and supervised weight loss, and regular physical activity is strongly recommended.