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"Everyone should reduce their consumption of saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium as much as possible. The leading studies and institutions support this position."

Their conclusions are at odds with the data.

In one of the longest-running studies ever, The Framingham Heart Study on High density lipoprotein cholesterol and mortality, found:

"In 12 years of follow-up for 2748 Framingham Heart Study participants ages 50 to 79, low levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL- C) were associated with increased mortality. For men, the relative risk of death in the first HDL-C quintile (less than 35 mg/dl) as compared to the top quintile (greater than 54 mg/dl) was 1.9 for all causes, and 3.6 and 4.1 for death due to cardiovascular and coronary heart disease (CHD), respectively, after adjustment for standard cardiovascular risk factors."

Note that there was an INVERSE releationship between low levels of HDL cholesterol and mortality.

From American Journal of Clinical Nutrition January 13, 2010: PubMed.gov link to study
"CONCLUSIONS: A meta-analysis of prospective epidemiologic studies showed that there is no significant evidence for concluding that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of CHD or CVD. More data are needed to elucidate whether CVD risks are likely to be influenced by the specific nutrients used to replace saturated fat."

Cholesterol is a nutrient in the body. It is responsible for many vital processes.

This link states what cholesterol does in the body: Link to Trusted MD network
"It is also important to understand cholesterol is an essential component of our cell membranes, it acts as an anti-oxidant, it is a precursor for the synthesis of vitamin D as well as bile for digesting fats, and is the only source out of which our steroid hormones, such as cortisol, as well as estrogen, progesterone and testosterone which are key to reproduction, can be made. Therefore it is safe to say that without cholesterol we would not survive. Cholesterol is also the precursor to calcitrol, the steroid hormone that regulates calcium levels in our bodies by helping us absorb calcium from our food, thus playing a key role in the mineralization of our bones and teeth. Cholesterol is also manufactured in the glial cells of the brain to aid with synapses."

The whole cholesterol myth was theorized in the 19th century and supported by misguided research in the early 20th century. In 1913 a Russian scientist demonstrated that feeding a large amount of cholesterol to rabbits caused atherosclerotic lesions. Further studies showed that dietary cholesterol induced atherosclerosis in rabbits because it depressed thyroid function. When thyroid extracts were given along with the cholesterol, the rabbits did not develop atherosclerosis anymore.

Most studies show that CVD and CHD are a result of the body's response to inflammation, and reducing cholesterol has little to no impact on progress of the disease. Studies show that cholesterol-lowering medications do not reduce heart attack risk because of lowering cholesterol, but only offer a small reduction of heart attack risk because of their blood-thinning properties.