Cholesterol is a big bad word to many people, but in reality, cholesterol, like a lot of things in life, has both good and bad qualities. The secret to a healthier heart is to increase your good cholesterol while reducing your bad cholesterol. But what exactly is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a yellow, waxy substance related to fat that circulates in the bloodstream. It can come from your own body, which produces its own cholesterol (serum cholesterol), or from your diet (dietary cholesterol). Cholesterol is necessary for good health because it has important functions, like building new cells, insulating nerves, and producing hormones. But an excess of cholesterol can gum up your arteries, restricting blood flow, and eventually it may lead to a heart attack, stroke or the pain of angina. Coronary artery disease is the most common cause of death in men and women over 20 years of age, according to the American Heart Association (AHA).

Your body produces all the cholesterol it needs. You don't need to obtain any cholesterol from your diet. But if you do, the AHA recommends that you restrict your dietary cholesterol to less than 300 mg. a day or less than 200 mg. a day if you have heart disease. Cholesterol can be found in all animal products but no plant products. Some people inherit a tendency to manufacture too much cholesterol and have to be especially careful about their dietary cholesterol intake.

Serum cholesterol comes in two varieties. HDL cholesterol is good because it actually cleans arteries of debris. For optimum heart health, you should increase your HDL while decreasing your LDL. LDL cholesterol is bad because it does just the opposite: it clogs arteries. The AHA suggests that serum HDL levels should be kept over 60 mg./dL and LDL levels at less than 100 mg./dL. A serum cholesterol reading of 200 mg./dL or less is considered optimal.
There are numerous ways to bump up your good (HDL) cholesterol while you knock down your bad (LDL) cholesterol:

1) First and foremost, if you're overweight, lose the extra pounds, because the more obese you are, the more cholesterol your body will produce. A diet high in plant-based foods (fruit, veggies, cereals, whole grains, beans, seeds, nuts) and low in animal-based foods (meat, dairy, eggs) is an effective way to raise good cholesterol levels and reduce your weight. Even if you're not obese, your cholesterol levels can still benefit from this diet. Many people erroneously

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