Nearly every other person in our society is suffering from high cholesterol and other related heart problems. Buying lower cholesterol foods has become a necessity in order to eat healthy and live healthy. But with all the different brand labels we are constantly bombarded with it becomes tricky finding out exactly which foods are actually going to help you in reducing the amount of cholesterol in your blood stream. More than half of the times any label that reads "low cholesterol" or "no cholesterol" will in fact be merely a marketing gimmick and may contain other such items that contribute to increasing cholesterol level thus hampering your efforts to eating truly lower cholesterol foods.

This is why it is becoming increasingly important that you properly educate yourself about all the other ingredients that can contribute to raising your cholesterol level so you can refrain from them even if the label terms them as lower cholesterol foods. Eating healthy so that you can keep your cholesterol levels in balance doesn't only involve eating healthy foods. You have to watch out for other ingredients like saturated fat or trans fat which also increase the cholesterol in our blood. Therefore simply relying on a label that reads lower cholesterol foods isn't enough. You have to check the detailed ingredients to make sure you it doesn't include any trans fat or saturated fat either.

You should know that cholesterol only comes from food that is animal - based. Any product that is plant - based will have no cholesterol at all. Therefore you can say that the ultimate lower cholesterol foods are those that are plant - based. If you are trying to adopt a lifestyle which involves a healthier diet then the next time you go out shopping you should look for more whole grains, legumes, vegetables and fruits. All these products are truly foods that are healthier.

Apart from all this you should know the minimum daily requirement of nutrients so that you can keep a check on how healthy you are eating. When it comes to fruit and vegetables they are quite rich in fiber and you should aim to have at least three to five servings each day. You don't have to worry about anything when it comes to eating fruits and vegetables because they are truly cholesterol free foods and don't either contain any saturated fat. And when it comes to legumes and whole grains you should aim for at least six to eight servings in a day.

When it comes to whole grain breads and other wheat products like pasta, grains, rice, cereals and other dry beans, these foods are quite rich in fiber which makes them more fulfilling. You can spend longer time without feeling hungry on these lower cholesterol foods. This is why they are an ideal choice for people trying to lose weight while decreasing cholesterol level. However avoid foods like those breads that are high on the trans fat because of the eggs, milk and sugar that is added.