Avocados, nuts, olives, and seeds -- even if you have high cholesterol, don't give 'em up.

In case you haven't quite gotten the whole fat thing down yet, unsaturated fats are your friends when it comes to lowering bad LDL cholesterol and raising good HDL cholesterol. So if your salad looks a little dull tonight, make your stomach and your arteries happy: Toss in some walnuts, sunflower seeds, or avocado and use a dressing made with olive oil. Then, eat up.

To make your diet heart-healthy, choose foods that contain unsaturated fat rather than saturated, and stay away from trans fat altogether. How can you tell the difference? Almost all plant-based fats are the heart-healthy kind, unless they have been hydrogenated. Cook with natural, unhydrogenated canola, sesame, or vegetable oil instead of butter, shortening, or stick margarine. On sandwiches, skip the mayo and spread on a moist, flavorful alternative like mustard, hummus, or crushed-olive tapenade. Just remember: Heart-healthy or not, you still need to limit total fat consumption to about 30 percent of your daily diet.