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Hi Barb,   I can feel your confusion!  Let me give you a few links to articles that will help. Lower Cholesterol: Butter versus MargarineYour Checklist to Lower CholesterolTriglycerides: Why They Matter and How to Lower ThemDietary Fiber: 4 Tips to Lower Cholesterol with FiberTop 5 Omega-3 Sources to Lower Cholesterol   Overall, it looks like you've taken some very positive steps to lower your cholesterol levels.  I'm confused by why you've cut out dairy products.  Calcium is an important nutrient for heart health and maintaining healthy blood pressure levels.  What's important is limiting high fat dairy, such as whole and 2% milk and high fat cheeses.  However, you don't want to cut out all dairy.  Shoot for 3 servings of dairy daily - low fat milk, low fat yogurt, low fat cheeses.   As far as your pumpkin pie fix.  When it comes to pie, pumpkin is definitely going to be the healthier choose; however, that doesn't mean you should indulge everyday or every week for that matter.  You can enjoy your pumpkin pie, just don't go overboard.  Watch how often and how much you eat.   The changes you've made to improve your total cholesterol levels will help triglycerides also.  You'll learn in the triglyceride article above foods that impact triglycerides more so than total cholesterol.  As you lower triglycerides, your HDL (good) cholesterol should rise, which will be good for your heart health.   You can learn about a diet to lower cholesterol here.   All the best, Lisa Nelson RD How to Lower Cholesterol in 8 Simple Steps