How do you manage cholesterol when your diet is already vegetarian?

A vegetarian diet is not automatically heart-healthy, and Indian vegetarian diets can be high in refined carbohydrates, ghee, coconut, palm oil in packaged foods, and fried snacks — all of which affect lipids. Practical levers: increase soluble fibre from oats, barley, legumes, psyllium and fruit, which measurably lowers LDL; use oils higher in unsaturated fat and use less of them; include nuts and seeds daily in modest quantities; and reduce refined carbohydrates, which drive triglycerides. Also worth knowing that a meaningful proportion of cholesterol is genetically determined and diet alone may not be sufficient.