Dietary treatment of hyperlipidemias by using a food exchange table method. A preliminary report.

Abstract

To overcome the difficulties in the dietary treatment of hyperlipidemias, the method of food exchange table for hyperlipidemia has been developed, in which each food of 80 calories was handled as one unit and the cholesterol and fatty acid content in one unit of food were shown as number of black circle(s) and triangle(s). Each full black circle indicated 50 mg of food cholesterol, and a full triangle meant that S-1/2P value of food was 0.5. The patients were instructed to take daily diet containing not more than 5 black circles or +4 trangles in the total. Serum cholesterol and triglycerides of the patients thus instructed were compared with those of patients on ordinary dietary regimens. Although this method still failed to effect statisfactory reduction in serum lipid concentrations, the method made it easier for a dietician to explain the dietary regimen and also for a patient to observe dietary treatment. For further improvement, more strict exchange rules for varieties of food had to be established without causing imbalance in the nutritional ingredients of dietary regimens.