I'm confused about cholesterol. The truth is that cholesterol plays an important and needed role in body metabolism, and there are good and bad types. Your body needs cholesterol to function normally, especially in creating certain hormones, Vitamin D, and bile acids, which are important in the absorption of fat.
Cholesterol is found in a wide range of foods, from eggs and red meat to shellfish.
A high blood cholesterol level indicates that you have more cholesterol in your bloodstream than your body needs. When there is too much cholesterol in your blood, the excess can become trapped on the walls of your arteries, causing atherosclerosis, and restricting the blood flow to the heart, says Gary L. Balady, M.D., director of preventive cardiology at Boston Medical Center and professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine. Anyone can develop high blood cholesterol, regardless of age, race, gender, or ethnic background. There are two types of cholesterol that affect your risk of heart disease. High-density lipoprotein, or HDL, is the good cholesterol, responsible for removing cholesterol from artery walls and carrying it to the liver for processing.