As mentioned above, cholesterol in and of itself, is a natural function of human body. Every living being requires a certain amount of fat to exist. Like everything in nature, it o­nly becomes a problem when there is an imbalance.

The processing of fat begins when it gets absorbed in intestines. From there it heads to liver. The fat requires a delivery system to rest of body to be used immediately but also to be stored in fat cells for future use.

In order for fat to enter delivery system, while it is in liver it is split into two different types of fat, cholesterol and triglycerides.

Once this transformation takes place, two types of fat (cholesterol and triglycerides) are packed into vehicles for carrying fat to fat cells throughout body using bloodstream. These vehicles are called lipoproteins.

There are three types of lipoproteins:

1. Very Low Density Lipoproteins (VLDL) 2. Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL) 3. High Density Lipoproteins (HDL)

Under normal circumstances, bloodstream does a very efficient job of carrying LDL and HDL Lipoproteins throughout body.

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat like substance that presents itself naturally in cell walls and membranes everywhere in your body. Your body uses cholesterol to produce many hormones. It also uses it to produce vitamin D and bile acids that help to digest fat.

Where problems arise is when there is an over abundance of cholesterol in your bloodstream. The cholesterol deposited by LDL leads to a narrowing of blood vessels.

If this occurs, excess can be deposited in arteries of heart which could result in stroke or heart disease. This is called atherosclerosis. This is why LDL is known as “bad cholesterol.”

HDL usually collects bad cholesterol and takes it back to liver. That’s why HDL is known as “good cholesterol.”

Cholesterol is not o­nly cause of heart disease, but it is a contributing factor. Here’s how it works.