Table 4.

Dietary guidelines for prevention of metabolic syndrome.

Eat a diet, in which: •Calories are as per requirement, based on age, gender and activity levels. •Total fats provide < 30% (preferably < 20%) of daily calorie needs. •Saturated fats provide < 10% (preferably < 7%) of daily calorie needs. •Trans-fatty acids are eliminated from diet. •Most dietary fats are polyunsaturated (up to 10% of calories) or monounsaturated (10–15% of calories). •Refined sugars provide <10% of calorie needs. •Salt consumption (all sources) is <5 g/day. •Dietary Cholesterol intake is < 300 mg/day. (a) •Gravied, fried, creamed, and sugared food stuffs are low. •Plenty of whole grains, cereals, legumes, beans, and pulses are present. •Fresh fruits/vegetables 400–500 g/day are included. •Low-fat dairy products are included.

^aThe recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans (2015–2020) have removed the recommendations of upper limit of 300 mg/day of cholesterol from dietary sources. This is because there is a natural balance maintained between exogenous (dietary) cholesterol and its endogenous production in the body. However, the guidelines also clearly mention that intake of high levels of saturated fats and trans-fatty acids continues to be an important risk factor for CVD and many of the foods which are high in cholesterol are also rich in saturated fatty acids, with the exception of shrimps and whole eggs, which contain very low amounts of saturated fats (Ref. no. ³⁹).

(Source: 36, 37, 38, 39)