What Is It?

• Produced by the liver and also found in most of the animal-based foods we eat, cholesterol is a soft, waxy substance that plays an important role in the building and maintenance of human cells. It flows through the bloodstream, but when your level of LDL is higher than it should be, this substance can build up on the walls of your blood vessels. This buildup is known as plaque that, over time, can impede the proper flow of blood through your arteries and lead to serious health consequences, including heart attack and stroke.
  
  

The Role It Plays

• Cholesterol not only helps to build and maintain cells, it also aids in the digestive process. It does this by helping the body to produce bile salts, which are important in the digestion of fats. Other important functions of cholesterol involve the body's manufacture of vitamin D and steroid hormones, including glutocorticoids, which regulate human blood sugar levels, mineralcorticoids that help to regulate blood pressure and the body's mineral balance and the sex hormone testosterone, which in females is eventually converted to estrogen.
  
  

Good Cholesterol

• HDL, the so-called good cholesterol, helps to protect the heart and is found in certain foods, including raw onions, foods high in soluble fiber, such as whole grains, brown rice, bran and citrus fruits, foods high in omega-3 fatty acids and cooking oils that are higher in monounsaturated fats, including olive and canola oils.
  
  

Bad Cholesterol

• Bad cholesterol, more accurately known as LDL, is the main culprit in the buildup of artery-clogging plaque. It is found in a variety of foods, especially those that are high in saturated fats. Such foods include fatty meats, butter, egg yolks, shortening and hydrogenated vegetable oils. Americans' love affair with fast food, particularly greasy hamburgers and french fries, is a major factor in the high LDL cholesterol levels seen by medical professionals.
  
  

The Right Mix

• Doctors generally assess patients' risks for heart attack or stroke based on their ratio of total cholesterol to the level of HDL cholesterol. Most medical professionals prefer ratios of about 3-to-1 or better, as in total cholesterol of 180 with a HDL reading of 60. Other doctors put the emphasis on keeping LDL levels below 100, regardless of what the HDL reading is.