What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a type of fat, most of which is made in the body by the liver. Only a small amount comes into our bodies through our food.

What’s cholesterol for?

Cholesterol is a very important part of the membrane or lining of every single cell in the body. Without it we could not function. From cholesterol, the body also makes bile salts which we need for digestion of food and to make some hormones.

What is "bad cholesterol"?

Otherwise known as "LDL" cholesterol, we only need quite low levels of this type but most people have too much LDL. When there is too much LDL in the blood, it can build up in the arteries of the body. The arteries become narrow and can lead to a greater risk of having a heart attack or a stroke in later life.

Eating food that is low in saturated fat is a great of keeping the amount of LDL cholesterol in your blood really low.

What is "good cholesterol?"?

Yes - there is such a thing!

Good cholesterol or "HDL" can collect the bad cholesterol and carry it back to the liver for recycling. The more HDL you have, the less bad cholesterol will collect in the arteries, which could otherwise cause a heart attack or a stroke in later life.

Keeping physically active is a great way of keeping HDL high.