There are hundreds of different diets that claim to do all kinds of things, but do diets lower cholesterol or is there something special that a person has to do in addition to the diet? For instance, along with the diet, do you need to take a prescription drug in order for a diet to actually lower cholesterol levels? Are there special diets that are designed to lower cholesterol or can any diet do the trick? To answer these questions, you first need to know that there are several factors that can increase your cholesterol to an unhealthy level. One of the factors that can increase your cholesterol level is your weight. Being overweight not only is a risk factor on its own for heart disease, but also can be a contributing factor to high cholesterol. So, with that in mind, losing weight is a good place to start if you want to lower your cholesterol and also lower your risk for heart disease. In order to lose weight you need to stick to a diet plan that is not only safe, but is also able to lower your cholesterol. Which Diets Lower Cholesterol and Which Diets Can Actually Raise Your Cholesterol. Since there are so many different diets out there I’m not going to cover everyone of them. Instead, I will go over a general guideline for you to follow and let you use that in order to pick which diet will specifically fit your needs. The first guideline I will cover is the types of diets that can lower your cholesterol. The type of diets that tend to lower your cholesterol are the kind that stick to a plan that avoid foods that are high in bad fats. These fats include saturated and trans fats. Your body can make all of the saturated fat that it needs, so you need to avoid this fat. Typically, you find saturated fat in foods like red meat, poultry with skin and whole dairy products, to just name a few. Trans fat is made from a process called hydrogenation. This is a very bad fat and is commonly found in margarine, processed and fried foods. There are many foods that contain these types of fats, so it would be hard to completely eliminate them from your diet. Instead, you can stick to a diet plan that limits your intake of saturated and trans fats and focuses on healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts and lean cuts of meats. The next guideline we will look at are diets that can actually raise your cholesterol. These types of diets focus on low fat, high-carbohydrate foods. The idea behind these types of diets is to trick your body into thinking that it is in a “starvation mode.” What this does is causes your liver to produce even more cholesterol to make sure your body has an adequate amount to survive. As you can see these types of diets can actually raise your cholesterol even higher. So, as a general guideline, it is important to not only choose a diet that focuses on the proper types of fats, but also focuses on eating healthy foods. These types of diets lower cholesterol and help you lose weight which will lead to a healthier, happier life.