Cholesterol: The good and the bad

What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a type of blood fat that is made in your liver. You get extra cholesterol from the foods you eat and the fats within them. Your body needs certain levels of cholesterol to be able to perform important jobs such as supporting your body’s production of cell membranes, vitamin D and certain hormones.

It is measured in millimole per litre or mmol/L. With total cholesterol levels of below 5 mmol/L being healthy.

Non-HDL cholesterol

Non-HDL cholesterol is often referred to as the bad cholesterol within your blood. Its role is to transport all fat molecules around your body. However, having too much of it means that it can build up in the walls of your arteries which hardens and narrows them. This causes atherosclerosis and can lead to heart disease. An excess of non-HDL often comes from eating high levels of saturated fats (fatty foods) such as pastries, cakes and processed meats.

Healthy levels of non-HDL cholesterol are below 4 mmol/L.

HDL cholesterol

HDL cholesterol or the good cholesterol in your blood picks up any excess cholesterol and takes it back to your liver to be broken down and removed from your body. High levels of HDL cholesterol reduce your risk of heart diseases where low levels increase your risk. Consuming unsaturated or healthy fats in your diet such as olive oil, nuts and seeds, oily fish and avocados to help tovincrease your HDL levels.

Healthy levels of HDL cholesterol are more than or equal to 1 mmol/L.

How to keep your cholesterol levels healthy

Regular exercise and meeting the guidelines of 150 minutes of physical activity each week will help to keep your cholesterol levels healthy. Maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking and drinking limited amounts of alcohol also help benefit your cholesterol levels. As well as eating a healthy balanced diet that includes oily fish, wholegrains, nuts and seeds, fruit and vegetables and limited amounts of fatty foods.