For Cholesterol Health, Trade Sugar for These

Make that heart-friendly bowl of oatmeal even better for your cholesterol by mixing in some fresh berries instead of sugar.

A recent study showed that too much added sugar in the diet could contribute to high cholesterol levels. But trading sugar for fresh fruit is a sweet way to cut back on the white stuff.

Sickeningly Sweet
In a study, people who averaged about 90 grams of added sugar a day tended to have higher triglyceride levels and less of the good HDL cholesterol than did the people who typically ate less sugar. Other studies suggest that one of the monosaccharides in sugar may inhibit the removal of lipids from the blood. (Addicted to sugar? Here are six ways to break the habit with ease.)

Fruity Sweets for Your Heart
Nixing the table sugar in your coffee and cereal is just one way to start cutting back. You can also sleuth out the high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) hidden in processed foods -- like drinks, condiments, salad dressings, and breads. Your goal should be no more than 100 calories of added sugar a day if you're a woman, and 150 a day if you're a man. Need more hints and tricks for cutting back on the sweet stuff? Try these strategies:

• Craving a soda? Sip this Minty Iced Tea instead.
• Yearning for dessert? Whip up a bowl of Island Ambrosia.
• Feeling the need for ice cream? Indulge in these no-added-sugar Orange-Banana Smoothie Pops.

Lower your cholesterol naturally with these cholesterol-lowering foods.