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Anyone who has just been told they need to adopt a low cholesterol diet will likely be lamenting a loss of their favorite foods. While fatty foods won't be allowed on daily basis, there's no reason this particular kind of diet should signal an end to great tasting foods.

The truth is a low cholesterol diet might even taste better than one that's high in the bad stuff, if all the choices are fully explored. Offering something for just about every taste, a diet that's lower in cholesterol can be gourmet all the way around. To fully explore the possibilities, let's look at some of the main categories of foods that fall under the heading of being low in cholesterol.

Fruits and vegetables. There's no reason to cut these out of menu plan. You might want to avoid frying these, but steamed, boiled and fresh fruits and vegetables are more than okay.

Unsaturated fats. While deep-frying in lard might be out of the question, oils don't have to be. Instead of lards and other saturated fats, lean toward canola and oil oils as they can actually help lower cholesterol levels while also tasting pretty darn good in the process.

Canola oil, for example, is more than acceptable for deep-frying. Although you might still want to avoid doing this on a nightly basis, it doesn't have to be removed entirely to enjoy a diet that's low in cholesterol.

Whole grains. White flour is great for cakes and cookies, but keep it out of an everyday diet. Instead, choose things like whole wheat and grains to add a little spice to a diet. There are even studies that show some of these things can help lower cholesterol levels.