Cholesterol Facts
With all the news and warnings about the dangers of high cholesterol, many people view cholesterol as a bad substance that should be eliminated completely from our lives. In truth, cholesterol serves some important functions in the body. In order to understand how cholesterol affects the body, one must first understand what cholesterol is.
Cholesterol is a waxy substance that is attached to the fats in our bloodstream and is present in all of the cells of the body. Cholesterol comes from food that we eat, as well as being manufactured directly by the liver. Cholesterol is an important regulator in the bloodstream, as it helps to regulate the formation of many cells as well as hormones. However, to have too high or too low of a cholesterol count in the blood can be a very dangerous factor, often leading to a heart attack or a stroke. Although cholesterol is prevalent in the blood stream, it cannot dissipate in the blood. The cholesterol maneuvers throughout the body attached to lipids (fats).
There are two main types of cholesterol. The first type is called LDL cholesterol, and the other is HDL cholesterol. LDL cholesterol, otherwise...