Cholesterol - Know Your Fat Facts What exactly is cholesterol?  Cholesterol is a substance made by both the body and consumed in food products that come from animals. Primarily, it travels in the blood as two compounds: low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and high-density lipoproteins (HDL). In practice, HDL is often called the 'good' cholesterol and LDL is called the 'bad' cholesterol. The reason for this is that HDLs help transport cholesterol in the body to the liver, where the body then prepares to excrete it. LDLs, on the other hand, actually transport cholesterol from the liver to cells in the body. Once the body's cells have all of the cholesterol they need, the extra cholesterol can build up along blood vessel walls as plaque. People with high total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol ratios are at increased risk for heart disease because in general, they are transporting more cholesterol to cells than they need.

Cholesterol Food Guidelines Cholesterol Cooking Tips Top Ten Cholesterol Fighting Foods

THE GOOD HDL (High Density Lipoprotein) is known as "good" cholesterol. HDL cholesterol actually contains very little cholesterol in its core. As it travels through the bloodstream it carries LDL or "bad" cholesterol away from the arteries to the liver where it is either recycled or removed from the body. 40 or greater Desirable Under 40 Not Desirable THE BAD LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein) is called the "bad" cholesterol. The core of the LDL is almost all cholesterol. If LDL levels are high, as it travels through the blood stream, it builds up on the artery walls. When LDL cholesterol combines with other substances, a plaque like substance is produced that can clog the arteries. Under 100 Desirable for those at high risk Under 130 Desirable 130 - 159 Borderline High 160 or Greater High THE UGLY Triglyceride is a form of fat found in food, body fat, and is also carried in the blood as part of the cholesterol molecule. The visible fat on a chicken or steak is actually triglycerides. If you are overweight, your body stores the extra calories you eat as triglycerides. People with high triglyceride levels often have low HDL or "good" cholesterol levels and this combination is considered by many experts to be associated with an increase risk of heart disease. Under 150 Normal 150 - 199 Borderline High 200 – 499 High 500 or higher Very High