Most cholesterol is produced in the liver, and is carried in the bloodstream to the body's cells by special proteins called lipoproteins.
Cholesterol is found mainly in foods that come from animals.
These include meat, poultry, fish and dairy products. Foods of plant origin have no cholesterol. LDL is the major carrier of cholesterol in the blood. LDL deposits cholesterol on the artery walls, causing the formation of a hard, thick cholesterol plaque. Over time, the cholesterol plaque causes thickening of the artery walls and narrowing of the arteries, a process called atherosclerosis.