Trans fatty acids are especially bad for you they raise the levels of ldl cholesterol in your blood and lower the levels of high density lipoprotein hdl good cholesterol there are currently no safe levels of trans fat to consume each day so avoid them completely or eat them as little as possible. A few simple tweaks to your diet along with exercise and other heart healthy habits might help you lower your cholesterol oatmeal oat bran and high fiber foods oatmeal contains soluble fiber which reduces your low density lipoprotein ldl cholesterol the bad cholesterol. There are several foods which are not just part of a healthy diet they can actively help to lower your cholesterol too as part of your healthy heart diet try to eat some of these every day the more you add to your diet the more they can help lower your cholesterol especially if you cut down on saturated fat as well. Studies show eating fibre especially the soluble type thats found in foods such as oats barley oranges and eggplant can help lower unhealthy cholesterol levels however to obtain those heart healthy benefits adults would need to consume between 21 to 38 g every day most of us get about half that amount