Fatty substance that belongs to the sterols. Cholesterol is found in all cell types and used in the body, including the production of bile acids and steroid hormones. It is included as a component of cell membranes. The synthesis of cholesterol in the body is carefully regulated. Cells that supplied cholesterol, reduces its own synthesis. From the food supplied cholesterol from animal foods such as eggs, meat and offal, butter, milk and milk products. Nevertheless, the cholesterol from your diet is a relatively small part of the overall cholesterol turnover in the body. In the blood, cholesterol works with the proteins in the transport of fat the formation of lipoprotein is.
High blood cholesterol is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Amount to particular type of fat in the diet is consequential for cholesterol in the blood. There is a strong correlation between the intake of hard fat (the sum of saturated fat and trans fat), serum cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) and incidence of myocardial infarction. A change of diet's fat intake, ie a reduction of saturated fat and an increase of unsaturated fats, lowers the amount of LDL cholesterol in the blood and reduces the risk of heart attack.
There are a number of drugs that lower a cholesterol level in blood (like statins).