Cholesterol is a white, waxy substance that is present in some of the foods we eat; it is also manufactured by all the cells of our body, but most notably by the liver cells. A certain amount of cholesterol is critcial to maintaining good health.

It’s not only an important component of cell walls, it is also essential for the production of some. For most people, between 70 and 75 percent of the cholesterol in their blood is produced by their liver; the rest, about 30 percent comes from the food we eat. Your foods cholesterol, therefore, is something that you can directly affect yourself.

Your body needs fat and cholesterol to maintain good health. In infancy and childhood, fat is essential for normal brain development; throughout life, it is essential to provide energy and support growth. Cholesterol is used to build the walls of cells throughout your body and to manufacture key essential substances like hormones and vitamin D. So it is important to have at least some fat and cholesterol in your body at all times.

If cholesterol is needed for healthy bodily function, why is cholesterol bad for you! It’s simple.The answer to these questions is simple. A certain amount of cholesterol is important for the body. However when blood cholesterol levels exceed 200mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter), you can be at risk for developing heart disease. It’s the reason so many of us are looking for a solution to high cholesterol.

Raised total blood cholesterol is very much a modifiable heart disease risk factor. In so many cases heart attacks, bypass surgeries, angioplasties, and sudden cardiac deaths occur in people with total cholesterol levels above 200mg/dL. Cholesterol medication is used to help control those levels.

A better way to estimate risk of heart disease is to actually know your ratio of total cholesterol to good cholesterol. It’s not just the total cholestrol level that tells you what your risk is: you really need to know what your ratio is.

Always seek your doctor’s advice for all health related issues. The information in this post is for information purposes only and is not intended to diagnose any ailment or suggest any treatment.