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Cholesterol is a waxy natural steroid found in the blood and the body’s cell walls along with fats (lipids).

It’s frustrating to have high cholesterol because you can’t really see it and while it isn’t a disease it causes a great deal of damage if the right levels aren’t maintained.

Made by the liver from carbohydrates such as sugar, cholesterol is also found in some of the foods we eat.

The body uses small amounts of cholesterol and only about a tablespoon circulates in the body at any one time. Cholesterol produces cell membranes, hormones including estrogen, testosterone and adrenaline, Vitamin D and bile acids which aid fat digestion and nerve function.

If we have too much (hypercholesterolemia) it builds up with fat on artery walls causing a condition called atherosclerosis which narrows and weakens them causing heart disease.

Atherosclerosis

 Narrowing of the arteries leading to the brain and heart. Caused by excess cholesterol and other fats deposited on the artery walls which thicken and harden. When plaque becomes weak and ruptures, blood clots form which block the blood flow through arteries or they travel to others parts of the body.

If this happens in a heart artery then it can cause a heart attack. If it’s in a blood vessel or artery feeding the brain then a stroke occurs. When the supply of blood to limbs is reduced, movement can be difficult and sometimes gangrene sets in as in diabetes patients.