What Is Cholesterol?
Article Sources
- 1. 'LDL & HDL: Good & Bad Cholesterol.' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/cholesterol/ldl/hdl.htm.
- 2. 'Causes of High Cholesterol.' Heart.org, www.heart.org/en/health-topics/cholesterol/causes-of-high-cholesterol.
- 3. 'High Cholesterol Diseases: Conditions & Outcome.' Cleveland Clinic, my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/11918-cholesterol-high-cholesterol-diseases.
- 4. 'Knowing Your Risk: High Cholesterol.' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/cholesterol/risk/factors.htm.
- 5. 'Triglycerides and High Cholesterol: Causes, Risks & Prevention.' Cleveland Clinic, my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/11117-triglycerides.
2. How Cholesterol is Transported
Most cholesterol is manufactured in the liver and in the body’s cells, with a small percentage coming from food. Since blood fats cannot circulate freely in the blood, they are placed in lipoprotein packages that can then be transported by the blood to wherever they’re needed.
Some cholesterol is returned to the liver to produce bile acids that assist in digestive processes while others are eliminated as waste products. However, the majority are reabsorbed by the blood and used again to aid digestion.
Advertisement
