What Is Cholesterol?

Having high levels of cholesterol could lead to more serious illnesses

- Nthabiseng Mdluli

YOU have probably heard people talking about the dangers of having high levels of cholesterol, but what exactly do they mean by this? Cholesterol is both good and bad. At normal levels, it is an essential substance for your body. However, if concentrations in your blood get too high, it becomes a silent danger that can put you at risk of a heart attack.

WHAT IS CHOLESTROL?

Cholesterol is a natural, fat-like, waxy substance that is found in all cells in your body. Most of it is manufactured by the liver, but it is also found in some of the foods you eat.

Cholesterol is an essential substance that helps your body to function properly. It contributes to the structure of cell walls and helps in the production of certain hormones, vitamin D and the bile acids, which are needed for digestion in the intestines.

Travelling via the bloodstream, packets of cholesterol are constantly circulated all around your body as attachments connected to a type of protein called lipoprotein. The blood delivers the cholesterol to wherever it is needed.

TYPES OF CHOLESTROL

There are two main versions of cholesterol-carrying lipoprotein; low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL).