high level of cholesterol is related to the intake of processed foods sedentary lifestyle nutrient deficiencies and stress many people think that cholesterol in the diet is directly responsible for cholesterol in the bloodso all they have to do is to cut out highcholesterol foods and their blood cholesterol will become normal this is a misconception merely cutting down on dietary cholesterol will have an insignificant effect on blood cholesterol relying on a low cholesterol diet to lower blood cholesterol probably wont work for most people when the body is fed with high cholesterol foods like eggs red meat high fat dairy products the excess cholesterol is metabolised and excreted leaving blood levels unchanged further more the liver compensates for the excess intake of cholesterol by reducing its own production so that the blood levels of cholesterol do not rise all this happens if the person is leading a healthy lifestyle consuming a lot of antioxidants in the form of fruits and vegetables eating whole food in the form of whole grain cereals whole grain pulses and avoiding processed and refined foods in addition to exercising all these factors insulate him from mishandling dietary cholesterol on the other hand if he is living a life of stress and eating the regular fatfood fare as well as a diet rich in cholesterol namely eggs red meat and saturated fat in animal foods then his body metabolises dietary cholesterol differently the liver then does not act as a safeguard instead it allows the excess dietary cholesterol to enter the blood stream and subsequently stores it in the blood vessels and coronary arteries such people get affected by cholesterol rich foods and benefit from reducing their dietary cholesterol intake this only justifies the phrase one mans food is another mans poison whatever be the reason of raising blood cholesterol the answer is quite simple when you increase your intake of soluble fibre it helps bring down the blood cholesterol dramatically a point to note here is that fibre occurs exclusively in plant food animal foods like chicken fish meat beef cheese eggs milk have little or no fibre to boast of fresh raw unpeeled fruits and vegetables are high in fibre cooking vegetables especially the way we do it in indian cooking soggy and overcooked destroys much fibre juices have little or no fibre similarly unrefined grains products like dalia broken wheat whole wheat flour wheat puffs brown rice jowar and bajra flour whole dals like channa rajma chowli beans etc are high in fibre breads and biscuits high in fibre will list whole wheat flour and not just wheat flour as their chief ingredient on the label wheat bran is one of the highest fibre foods known because its fibre content is about 50 per cent there is no doubt that a diet rich in soluble fibre can lower blood cholesterol blood pressure and prevent strokes as well as heart attacks so how much fibre should you eat it has been seen