What is Cholesterol?

Cholesterol is an important structural component for the human body and plays an important role in the production of hormones and bile acids.
Cholesterol is taken up from our nutrition, however, the majority of the cholesterol in our body (approximately 75%) is produced by the liver. In order to transport cholesterol to those parts of the body where it’s needed, the liver produces the HDL and LDL. The LDL transports the cholesterol to several parts of the body. During this transport, LDL easily sticks to the interior side of blood vessels. This may lead to damage and narrowing of these blood vessels, and eventually may lead to atherosclerosis and possibly heart attack. Therefore, LDL is also referred to as bad cholesterol.
HDL is called "good" cholesterol, because HDL removes the surplus of the cholesterol from the interior side of the blood vessels and transports it back to the liver, where it will be excreted from the body through faeces. In normal circumstances, the liver keeps a balance between the absorption and excretion of cholesterol. This balance can be disturbed when food contains a lot of saturated fat, or when someone suffers from certain diseases, such as diabetes.

More Information on Cholesterol.