What is Cholesterol?
Cholesterol is present in the blood and in most of cells, and is a part of substances called lipids. In the blood, cholesterol is bound to certain proteins what makes lipoproteins. Roughly, they are two types of lipoproteins:
- LDL = Low Density Lipoproteins that contain a lot of cholesterol (what makes them low density). This is denoted as LDL cholesterol and is called “bad” cholesterol since, when in excess, it deposits on the inner arterial walls, building plaques called atheromas that harden and clog arteries. The disorder is known as atherosclerosis (from Greek atheroma = cholesterol plaque; sclerosis = hardening of arterial wall).
- HDL = High Density Lipoproteins that contain small amount of cholesterol denoted as HDL cholesterol that takes excessive cholesterol from LDL and carry it away from the blood, so it is called “good” cholesterol.