Stick it to high cholesterol - and do it the natural way! This snappy guide brings to your plate, literally and figuratively, an assortment of supplements alongside a platter of lifestyle revamps to manage those lipid levels that threaten to ring the heart disease alarm bell.

Many naturally occurring plant food compounds, such as plant sterols and stanols, are your sneaky allies in the fight against cholesterol. They mimic cholesterol and ambush it in the digestive system, stopping some of it from infiltrating your bloodstream. Popping 2 grams daily of these cholesterol-doppelgangers can help deflate cholesterol levels by about 7% to 10%.

Soluble fiber, much like a well-trained marine, binds bile acids in the gut and whisks them away. This forces your body to tap its cholesterol reserves, thus leading to less cholesterol absorption. Down at least 3 g of oat beta-glucan or 10 g of psyllium fiber daily, and you might just see that menacing LDL cholesterol ('bad cholesterol', if you need subtitles) play nice for once.

Speaking of shady characters doing some good, let's hear it for the sly red yeast rice. It's fermented rice packing the compound monacolin K, which is basically the doppelgänger for the cholesterol-controlling drug lovastatin. How does it do it? It gatecrashes the liver's cholesterol-making party and reduces LDL cholesterol by a whopping 15% to 25%.

And ever heard of berberine? This natural compound found in certain plants could double up as your body's choreographer, directing your lipid metabolism ballet and helping your body eliminate LDL cholesterol before it does any major damage. Berberine may lower those threatening triglycerides by 25-55 mg/dL and LDL by 20-50 mg/dL.

Cliche as it is, garlic is the grand old man that keeps on giving. Its compound allicin slows down the cholesterol factory in your liver and can reduce LDL cholesterol by about 10 mg/dL. But don’t start chewing raw cloves yet. It generally comes in aged extract capsules for a non-vampire repellent solution to your LDL dilemma.

If you're more of a nautical soul, meet Omega-3 fatty acids; think of them as the Navy SEALS trained to reduce the liver's production of triglycerides. They might even nurture your HDL (the 'good cholesterol', for the uninitiated) a bit. Pop daily doses of 2 to 4 g of EPA/DHA, and say goodbye to triglycerides by 30% or more!

And finally, let's do a round-up of some of our supporting cast: CoQ10, an antioxidant that improves lipid profiles and supports cellular energy, citrus bergamot - a fruit known to lower LDL and triglyceride levels, soy protein, which can replace animal protein and reduce LDL cholesterol by 3-4%, and green tea extract, that blocks cholesterol absorption in the gut.

Always remember to pair these supplements with a heart-healthy diet and regular activity, and never skip your healthcare provider-approved cholesterol-lowering medications. And just to be safe, stick to independently tested or certified supplement products from reliable sources. So now go out there, arm yourself with nature's arsenal, and declare war on high cholesterol!