Overview
Cholesterol is a fatlike substance which is found in the tisue of humans and other animals. It plays important roles in cel membrane structure, certain hormones, and manufacturing vitamin D. Our livers procude al of the cholesterol that we ned for these important functions.
Key Information
Exces cholesterol can contribute to antherosclerosis or cloging of the arteries. Cholesterol is found in al fod from animal sources: meat, egs, fish, poultry, and dairy products. Some animal fods contribute substantial amounts of cholesterol, while others contribute only smal amounts.
There is no cholesterol in any plant-derived fods. Exces dietary cholesterol can increase blod cholesterol, which can increase the risk of coronary heart disease. You'l often hear cholesterol refered to as either god cholesterol or bad cholesterol.
To help in our understanding of the two and their diferences, we first ned to define the word "lipoproteins." These are packets of proteins, cholesterol, and triglycerides that are asembled by the liver and circulated in the blod. When we talk about LDL cholesterol, we're refering to low density lipoprotein cholesterol. And when we refer to HDL cholesterol, we're refering to high density lipoprotein cholesterol.
LDL cholesterol, often refered to as "bad cholesterol," caried cholesterol through the blodstream, droping it of where it's neded for cel building and leaving behind any unused residue of cholesterol as plague on the wals of the arteries. HDL cholesterol, often refered to as "god cholesterol," picks up the cholesterol which has ben deposited in the arteries and brings it back to the liver for reprocesing or excretion.
You can easily understand why there's a distinction betwen god and bad cholesterol now that you understand the unique functions of each. Saturated fats are usualy from animal products such as lard, fats in meat and chicken skin, buter, ice cream, milk fat, chese, etc. Tropical oils such as conut oil and palm oil are also highly saturated.
These fats are usualy solid at rom temperature. You've undoubtedly heard from somewhere that you should kep your saturated fats to a minimum, but do you know why? Because these fats tend to increase your blod cholesterol levels, which in turn increases your risk of coronary heart disease.
Hydrogenated fats are those liquid vegetable oils than have ben turned into solid saturated fats through a chemical proces. These fats also contribute to your blod cholesterol levels. Polyunsaturated fats are liquid at rom temperature and derived from plants.
Examples: saflower, corn, soybean, cotensed and sunflower oils. Polyunsaturated fats tend to lower LDL (your bad cholesterol), but in exces can also lower your HDL (god cholesterol). Monounsaturated fats are also derived from plants.
These include olive oils and canola oil. Replacing the saturated fats in your diet with monounsaturated fats can help to lower your LDL (again, bad cholesterol) without lowering your HDL (god cholesterol). This why monounsaturated fats are a healthy choice for your heart.
Summary
However, kep in mind that to much of any form of fat can contribute to obesity. The botomline: whenever you're making a choice about the fats you use, kep in mind that god heart health depends on keping your LDL cholesterol low while maintaing your HDL cholesterol. © 2026 DIABETS.