One of the biggest misconceptions that people have is that food is packed with cholesterol. Very little cholesterol is found in foods, the main culprits being eggs, offal and shellfish.

High cholesterol is often linked to a diet which is, or has been, rich in saturated fat, e.g. beef lard, butter, whole fat dairy products, and in the coconut oil, palm oil and hydrogenated oils found in processed food.  This theory is no longer widely accepted at face value however because it is not so much the cholesterol consumed in  food that causes the high levels, because it  is poorly absorbed;  levels of blood cholesterol are mainly affected by the manufacture of cholesterol in the body - But, the production of cholesterol in the liver is certainly stimulated by high intakes of saturated fat.

1 in 500 people have high cholesterol because of an inherited problem, called familial
hyperlipidaemia.  If this includes you, you can get more information from:

The Family Heart Association
7 North Road, Maidenhead
Berkshire SL6 1PL
Tel: 01628 628638
Fax: 01628 628698

The National Cholesterol Education Program of the National Institutes of Health in the USA has a packed website which can answer most of your questions:
http://rover.nhlbi.nih.gov/chd/

DO WE NEED CHOLESTEROL?
Without cholesterol your body wouldn't work. It's vital to normal functioning throughout the body. Like specialised bricks, it forms part of the cell wall of every cell. It's used to insulate nerve fibres (and so make nerve signals travel properly) and also to make hormones which carry chemical   signals around the body.
But too much cholesterol in the blood increases the risk of coronary heart disease and disease of arteries elsewhere in the body.
Knowing your cholesterol level isn't, on its own, enough to tell you what your personal risk is. You also need to know blood levels of something called lipoproteins. These are special molecules which carry or transport cholesterol around the body. The main ones are:
Low density lipoprotein (LDL). This is often known as bad cholesterol.' It carries cholesterol from the liver to the cells and if supply exceeds demand, can cause harmful cholesterol build-up.
High density lipoprotein (HDL), or 'good cholesterol.' This takes cholesterol away from the cells and back to the liver, where it's either broken down or excreted.
Triglycerides.
The greatest danger is when someone has high levels of cholesterol and trigylcerides, with a low  level of HDL.
SO WHAT ARE NORMAL LEVELS?
What should be accepted as normal is controversial, even among doctors. According to the British
Dietetic Association (B.D.A), the healthy range for adults under 60 are:

(European guidelines are more stringent than these).

HIGH CHOLESTEROL SUPPLEMENTS

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