When your liver makes cholesterol, it is carried and given to you throughout your body's cells. When an excess of cholesterol is not used by your body's cells, it can sometimes start sticking to artery walls which leads to getting cardiovascular disease.

When you review cholesterol lowering diets, you need to keep in mind your body's need for some cholesterol. Even though cholesterol is not healthy, it does help with some necessary functions in the body. The key to maintaining a good diet is moderation of bad cholesterol and some consumption of good cholesterol.

In 2002, the American Heart Association recommended eating at least 2 servings of fish a week. This is because fish is a good source of protein and omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3 fatty acids have been shown to reduce levels of LDL cholesterol, and raise HDL cholesterol. omega 3 fatty acids are also known for its triglyceride-lowering effect. Fish is en essential part in any diet plan to lower high cholesterol.

Soluble fiber is known to be plentiful in oat bran and oatmeal. An advantage of soluble fiber is that it reduces LDL cholesterol, also called bad low density lipoprotein. Moreover, soluble fiber doesn't lower HDL cholesterol, which is also called good high density lipoprotein. Some have said that eating five to ten grams of soluble fiber per day can reduce LDL cholesterol by about 5%. Hence, any diet plan to lower high cholesterol must contain oatmeal and oat bran.

In addition to being rich in phytonutrients and fiber, nuts contain antioxidants, including Vitamin E and selenium. Moreover, nuts contain high amouts of plant steroids and fat, especially monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. The types of fats in nuts have all been proven to reduce harmful bad LDL cholesterol.

The FDA wrote reviews of heart health diet in 1999 that declared that soy was highly beneficial to heart health. The FDA also had studies in 1999 that declared that soy was highly beneficial to reduce cholesterol. However, the large benefits of soy were then contested vigorously. As a result, the AHA Nutrition Committee does not recommend eating soy to reduce cholesterol anymore. Although soy is not in every diet plan to lower high cholesterol, some people say that it still can lower harmful LDL cholesterol by 3%.

The absorption of cholesterol by the body can be blocked by sterols found in plants. LDL cholesterol levels can be reduced by 10 to 15 percent by a diet that contains two servings a day of sterol-fortified foods. A diet containing 2 grams of plant sterols a day is recommended by the National Cholesterol Education Program for people with high cholesterol.

Plant sterols are widely used and are often found in dressings, orange jiuce, margarine, functional cookies, etc. Sterol- fortified foods, by definition, contain 1 gram of plant sterols; it is imperative that the portion size and usage are noted from the labels along with other important details. Plant sterols cannot be consumed by everyone. In fact, AHA suggests that only those with high levels of LDL cholesterol consume plant sterols.