Eating is one of the things that can affect your cholesterol level a great deal. If you have too high cholesterol, the foods you eat can be one of the things you can control to most effectively and quickly lower your cholesterol. In fact, if you have elevated levels of high cholesterol, a healthy diet is the one thing that you must absolutely do in order to ensure heart health.

Adapting to a Cholesterol Friendly Diet

Once your doctor has confirmed that you have high cholesterol, you can take steps to regain your health by following a low cholesterol and low fat diet. Being true to such a healthful diet will ensure that you can reduce total cholesterol levels by as much as 15 percent. As an added benefit, this sort of diet will also make you feel generally healthier and more energetic as well.

You will benefit further with a regular exercise schedule and this will raise your "good" HDL levels for a total package of healthy living. Do this and within as short as 30 days you will experience a renewed sense of energy and vitality. The effects over all will be immediate.

Following a low cholesterol and low fat diet necessitates that you must do the following:

Get less than 7% of your day's total calories from saturated fat. Your doctor may recommend less.

Receive 25-35% or less of your day's total calories from fat. Your doctor may recommend less.

Consume less than 200 milligrams of dietary cholesterol each day, or follow the limits for dietary cholesterol that your doctor sets for you.

Limit your sodium intake to 2400 milligrams a day. Sea salt is a better option, but reducing your intake of all salts is the better choice.

You should be resolved to eat only enough calories to improve your healthy weight and reduce your blood cholesterol level.

Refuse foods made with harmful trans fats such as margarine, salad dressing and sauces.

Enjoy foods high in soluble fiber. These foods include:

Oats, rye, and barley

Fruits (especially try oranges and pears)

Vegetables (especially brussel sprouts and carrots)

Dried peas and beans

Avoid the Following Foods for Best Health:

High cholesterol foods can increase your level of blood cholesterol. High cholesterol foods include:

Organ meats (this includes liver, which may be eaten in small quantities)

Egg yolks

Full fat dairy products

Fried and processed foods are often high in fat and salt, which can wreak havoc on your heart health. Limit and eat only in moderation if at all:

Highly processed foods, and especially processed meats such as deli meats, sausages, hot dogs, bologna, salami and fatty red meats

All foods that are fried, especially deep fried foods

You will produce meals that have lower saturated fats when you try the following methods of food preparation:

Bake

Broil

Microwave

Poach

Steam

Grill

Roast (only if you remove fats that are melted in the process)

Lightly stir-fry or saute using low-fat and low-salt broth

Selecting your Foods

Enjoy a wide variety of foods regularly, including select cuts of meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs and nuts each week.

You can further keep your blood cholesterol levels low by doing the following:

Choose chicken and turkey that has the skin removed. You can keep the skin on to seal in the juices so long as you remove the skin before eating.

When selecting meat, choose leaner cuts, white meat, and cuts that have less white "marbleized" texture. The white "marble" is fat that can increase your cholesterol.

Select fish such as cod that has less saturated fat than even chicken or other meats.

Even the leanest cuts of meat, chicken, fish, and shellfish have saturated fat and cholesterol so limit your daily intake to 6 ounces or less.

Remember: You can increase soluble fiber if LDL is not lowered enough from reducing saturated fat and cholesterol.

These factors can help you lower the level of cholesterol that is part of your normal food intake.