The liver uses cholesterol to make bile acids, which are necessary in the digestive process. Unused bile gets recycled, but when you eat oats, the soluble fiber forms a gel in the digestive tract that binds onto bile, eliminating it with the bowel movement. Picture this as a glacier moving through your gut, removing cholesterol as it passes through. Since bile contains cholesterol, and the bile is removed, the body must make more. To do so, it takes cholesterol out of the bloodstream