(HealthDay News) -- Too much dietary cholesterol can lead to high cholesterol levels in the blood, which can be a risk factor for heart disease.

The Cleveland Clinic offers these suggestions to help lower your cholesterol:

• Avoid high-fat or fried foods.
• When you do eat foods with fat, look for foods with unsaturated, not saturated, fat.
• Reduce the amount of red meat that you eat, and eat more fish and poultry.
• Get enough soluble fiber by eating plenty of fruits, beans, peas and oats.
• Don't eat more than three egg yolks per week.
• Get plenty of exercise, maintain a healthy body weight, and stop smoking.