Follow Your Heart

February is national heart month—a time when many people focus on the fat and cholesterol in their diets. For some people, cholesterol is a household word, but many others remain confused about what cholesterol is and why it's important to monitor it.

Cholesterol is a soft, waxy substance, found primarily among the lipids (fats) in the bloodstream. It comes from two sources: your body (made primarily by the liver), and dietary cholesterol from the foods you eat. Cholesterol is essential to life because it's used to build cell membranes and manufacture certain hormones. But virtually all the cholesterol you need can be manufactured by the body. The excess cholesterol, most of it from dietary products like coconut and palm oils and an imal products such as marbled red meat, poultry skin, eggs, whole-milk products, liver and saturated fat, is what causes problems.

A high level of cholesterol in the blood is a major risk factor for heart attack (coronary heart disease).

Not all cholesterol is bad, however. There are two types: HDL and LDL. High-density lipoproteins (HDLs) are considered "good" because they carry cholesterol to the liver to digest so it can be removed from the body. Low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) are considered "bad" cholesterol because they transport much of the cholesterol into the blood. When LDL levels are high, arteries are much more likely to become clogged.

Knowing your blood cholesterol is important in determining your risk for heart disease. Below are guidelines for cholesterol levels from the American Heart Association.