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Cholesterol, made by your liver, is carried and delivered throughout your body via your body's cells. Cardiovascular disease, which is very harmful, can result when unused, excess cholesterol begins to stick to and build up on the walls of your arteries.

When reviewing cholesterol lowering diets, it is important to remember that although dangerous in excess, cholesterol is essential to the body's natural processes. Too much of anything, especially cholesterol, is unhealthy; moderation and watchfulness can solve this problem while allowing the proper consumption to occur.

The American Heart Association recently (2002) prescribed eating at least two servings of fish per week as an effective diet plan to lower high cholesterol. Not only does fish provide a good source of protein, but has also been discovered to contain high levels of omega 3 fatty acids, which has been proven to lower LDL "bad" cholesherol and boost HDL "good" 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.

Nuts contain antioxidants such as Vitamin E and selenium, and also are rich in phytonutrients and fiber. Nuts are also high in plant sterols and fat - but it should be noted that it's mostly monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which have all been shown to lower the 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%.

Plant sterols, powerful compounds that block the absorption of cholesterol by the body, are found in plants. Some studies have reported a 10 to 15 percent decrease in LDL "bad" cholesterol. From this, the National Cholesterol Education Program recommends those with high cholesterol consume 2 grams of plant sterols per day.

Plant sterols can be found in sterol-fortified foods such as salad dressings, orange juice, and margarine spread. They normally have at least a gram of plant steols per serving, but you should always read the labels for precise details on portion size and usage direction. Also, plant sterols are only recommended for people with high levels of LDL cholesterol, so they may not be right for you.