Cholesterol is a waxlike and white substance that is found 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 extremelyimportant to good health.

Cholesterol is not just an important component of cell walls, it is essential for the body’s production of certain hormones. For most people, between 70 and 75 percent of the cholesterol in their blood is made by their liver; the rest, about 30 percent comes from the food we eat. Your foods cholesterol, therefore, is something that you can change by your own efforts.

Your body requires 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 the body and to manufacture 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 your blood cholesterol levels exceed 200mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter), you can be at risk for developing heart disease. That’s why so many people are looking for a solution to high cholesterol.

Elevated total blood cholesterol is clearly a changeable heart disease risk factor. Many times 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.

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

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