What is cholesterol, and what are blood lipids?
Blood lipids is the name for all the fatty substances in the blood, including cholesterol and triglycerides. Cholesterol Cholesterol is a waxy substance which is mainly made in the body. The liver makes it mostly from the saturated fats in food. (Very little cholesterol is found in foods, except for eggs, liver and kidneys, and seafood such as prawns, all of which do contain some cholesterol.) Cholesterol plays a vital role in how every cell works, throughout the body. It is also the material which the body uses to make other vital chemicals. However, too much cholesterol in the blood can increase your risk of getting heart and circulatory disease. (Heart and circulatory disease includes coronary heart disease, stroke, and diseases that affect the circulation such as peripheral arterial disease.) LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol Cholesterol has a special ‘transport system’ for reaching all the cells which need it. It uses the blood circulation as its ‘road system’ and is carried on
