High Blood Cholesterol & Heart Disease
             Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance found in the body cells of humans and animals. Your body uses cholesterol to make essential body substances such as cell walls and hormones, as well as for various other functions. Cholesterol enters the body when you eat certain foods such as eggs, meat, and other dairy products, all of which are high in saturated fat. Another way your body obtains cholesterol is by producing it in the liver. The liver takes the saturated fat and turns it into two different types of cholesterol. The first type is HDL, or High Density Lipoprotein. This kind of cholesterol is often referred to as "good cholesterol" because it helps rid the body of excess cholesterol, which in return lowers the risk of heart disease. The second type of cholesterol is LDL, or Low Density Lipoprotein. LDL is known as "bad cholesterol" because it builds up on the walls of the blood vessels and can often cause heart disease. Cholesterol is like other fat-like substances in t!
             hat it will not mix with water. Therefore, in order to carry cholesterol and fat (lipid) in the blood, the body wraps them in protein packages. This combination is called a "lipoprotein." Blood cholesterol is found in all the major lipoproteins, including the low-density lipoproteins, LDL, and the high-density lipoproteins, HDL. Even if you didn't eat any cholesterol, your liver would manufacture enough for your body's needs.
             Having too much cholesterol in your blood can greatly raise your risk of a heart attack and/or a stroke. When cholesterol is over produced or consumed at a higher rate than the body can dispose of, the remaining amount is stored on the walls of your arteries as plaque. As more plaque forms in the lining of the arteries they become extremely narrow and making it difficult for blood to pass through. This is very dangerous for if a blood vessel to the brain o
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