What is cholesterol, and do we need cholesterol? The answer is yes. Cholesterol is a waxy substance found in our body (and provided from outside food consumption). It plays a role in hormone production, the building of cells and vitamins, brain function, and digestion to name a few. Cholesterol consists mostly of two types of cholesterol, often labeled as “bad” and “good”.
The “bad” cholesterol is your low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, cholesterol. This cholesterol is what leads to build-up in the arteries, which can increase your risk for blockages (that lead to heart attacks and strokes).
The “good” cholesterol is often referred to as your high-density lipoprotein or HDL cholesterol. It’s called the good cholesterol because it helps to keep the bad cholesterol away from the arteries (where it can build up and create blockages). It also brings the bad cholesterol to the liver for the liver to break down for removal from the body.
Saturated fat intake can lead to greater increases in our LDL cholesterol with unsaturated fat helping boost our HDL cholesterol. To refresh, foods high in saturated fat include fatty and processed meats, fried foods, some dairy products (when consumed in excess of what is recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans), butter/lard-like products, and tropical oils. Unsaturated fat can be found in more plant-based foods like nuts/nut oils and heart-healthy oils like extra virgin olive oil.
Check out some of our other articles on cholesterol to learn about other types of foods that can help to boost the “good” and reduce the “bad” cholesterol levels in our body.