Do you need to lower your Cholesterol? This book by the National Institutes of Health (Publication 06-5235) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute is designed to help you make the lifestyle changes that will help you to lower your blood cholesterol and reduce your risk for heart disease. High blood cholesterol can affect anyone. It's a serious condition that increases the risk for heart disease, the number one killer of Americans-women and men. The higher your blood cholesterol level, the greater your risk. Fortunately, if you have high blood cholesterol, there are steps you can take to lower it and protect your health. This book will show you how to take action by following the "TLC Program" for reducing high blood cholesterol. TLC stands for Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes, a three-part program that uses diet, physical activity, and weight management. Sometimes, drug treatment also is needed to lower blood cholesterol enough. But even then, the TLC Program should be followed. The book has four main sections: It explains why cholesterol matters and helps you find your heart disease risk; describes the TLC Program; talks about a condition called the metabolic syndrome that can also be treated with TLC; and offers advice on how to make heart healthy lifestyle changes. Within the sections you'll find tips on such topics as how to: communicate better with your doctor and other health care professionals, read food labels, make and stick with lifestyle changes, plan heart healthy menus for the whole family, and make heart healthy choices when you eat out. Anyone can develop high blood cholesterol-everyone can take steps to lower it.