General Health

Cholesterol. It’s one of those words everyone automatically labels as bad while, in fact, the jury is still out deliberating. Somewhere along the line, you’ve probably noticed that less ink is being spilled in books and magazines on the word diet and more on heart disease and cholesterol.

Frequently connected with the topic of cholesterol are words such as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, lipoproteins, HDL, LDL, and triglycerides. No matter how many times we hear them, many people are forever confused. What do they all mean, and what relationship do they have to the health of your heart and cardiovascular system?

Let’s start with the easy part, the definitions. Cholesterol is a waxlike, fatty substance that is natural to all animals. It is necessary to the working of our bodies, which make and use it, for example, to manufacture substances in our cell membranes and nerves. We ingest cholesterol by eating food products obtained from animals. The cholesterol we eat is called dietary cholesterol. The cholesterol in our blood is called serum cholesterol. When you are tested for cholesterol, your serum cholesterol will be measured and you will be given a number that represents a certain number of milligrams of cholesterol per 100 milliliters of blood. Anything under 200 is considered to be healthy. From 200 to 240 is considered to be borderline high, 240 to 300 is high risk, and over 300 is dangerous.

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