Cholesterol helps build membranes for new cells in the body and is an especially important constituent of nerve cells. Some cholesterol is converted to bile acids, which help fats and fat-soluble vitamins get absorbed from the digestive tract into the bloodstream. But unlike vitamins, minerals and other essential substances, cholesterol doesn't have to come from the diet. The body actually makes most of the cholesterol it requires. The liver packages most of this cholesterol into particles known as low-density lipoproteins, or LDL's.
Health problems occur when the supply of cholesterol in the blood exceeds the body's demands for it.
A high level of cholesterol in the blood is one of several risk factors for heart disease along with high blood pressure, cigarette smoking and lack of exercise. While dietary cholesterol can certainly influence serum cholesterol levels, recent studies suggest that the chief villain in raising serum cholesterol is not the cholesterol in our diets but rather the saturated fats. Saturated fats are found mainly in animal fats such as lard and butter and also in palm and coconut oils. When we eat foods high in saturated fats, LDL particles aren't removed and blood cholesterol levels rise. As research was fingering saturated fats as the chief culprit in raising serum cholesterol, it was also showing that dietary cholesterol has less of an effect on serum cholesterol than had been assumed.