Good & Bad Cholesterol
What is cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a white, waxy substance used by your body to help form cell membranes, various hormones, bile salts and vitamin D. Your body needs a certain amount of cholesterol!
Where does it come from?
Most cholesterol is made by your liver but some is absorbed from the food you eat by your digestive system. Foods high in dietary cholesterol include liver, kidney, eggs and prawns. A much bigger factor in raised cholesterol levels is saturated fat however. Evidence suggests that what really matters is the saturated fat content of your diet and that dietary cholesterol has little effect on blood cholesterol levels when it comes to reducing blood cholesterol.
Foods high in saturated fat include fatty red meat, meat products such as sausages or meat pies, full fat dairy products like whole milk, butter, cheese and cream, eggs, cakes, biscuits and chocolate.
Remember, to lower cholesterol it's more important to cut down on foods high in saturated fat, rather than to cut down on foods high in dietary cholesterol.
Good & Bad Cholesterol
Where does it come from?
Cholesterol is carried to your body's cells in the bloodstream. This is why your cholesterol levels are often described as your blood cholesterol levels. If your blood cholesterol levels are too high, the excess cholesterol can clog your arteries and increase your risk from heart disease.
Cholesterol & heart disease
Raised cholesterol levels are one of the major risks associated with heart disease. If your blood cholesterol levels are too high, the excess cholesterol can clog your arteries and increase your risk from heart disease.
Lowering your cholesterol will reduce your risk of heart disease, whatever your age or other personal risk factors. If you have any concerns about your cholesterol levels take a look at the section on Checking Cholesterol to find out more.
There are two main types of cholesterol:
HDL or High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol is known as good cholesterol. It works a bit like a ‘hoover', carrying cholesterol away from body tissues (including artery walls) back to the liver. The higher your HDL-cholesterol, the lower your risk of heart disease.
Good & Bad Cholesterol
LDL or Low-Density Liproprotein Cholesterol is known as bad cholesterol. Most of the cholesterol carried from the liver to other parts of the body in the blood is LDL-cholesterol. If you have too much LDL-cholesterol in your blood, the excess can gradually build up in the walls of your coronary arteries, increasing your risk of having a heart attack. The lower your LDL-cholesterol the better!
High blood cholesterol levels are linked to too much fat, especially saturated fat in your diet. The level of LDL-cholesterol in your blood tends to increase with the amount of saturated fat you eat, while the level of HDL-cholesterol falls.
Unsaturated fats in appropriate amounts, on the other hand, tend to lower LDL-cholesterol levels. Avocados, nuts and certain vegetable oils like rapeseed, sunflower, corn oil, olive oil all contain unsaturated fat.
For healthy cholesterol levels, we'd recommend reducing the total amount of fat you eat and eating unsaturated fat instead of saturated fat, whenever possible. Take a look at the Eat Smart section of our website to find out more. In addition, make sure you eat plenty of fruit and veg, a portion of oily fish and increase the amount of soluble fibre in your diet. Oats, beans, peas, lentils, chickpeas and fruit and veg all contain soluble fibre.
In addition, regular physical exercise can help lower your cholesterol. Take a look at the Get Active section of our website for more information.
