Every cell in your body requires cholesterol in its membranes. Cholesterol is also the starting material from which your body makes vitamin D, steroid hormones and bile acids for digestion.
Cholesterol is one member of a large family of chemical compounds known as lipids.
The more common name for lipids is fats. Cholesterol is not synonymous with fat. Even though it is usually associated with fat, cholesterol is a separate, specialized type of lipid. Cholesterol in blood is usually described as serum or plasma cholesterol. Serum or plasma is the watery part of blood remaining after red and white blood cells have been removed.