Cholesterol should not always be viewed in a negative light
Kacper Nowak
2026-03-19
2 min. read
44
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Most of us view cholesterol as something negative, however, there are individuals who assert that it is necessary for the proper functioning of the body. Is anyone correct? Perhaps the truth, as it often does, resides somewhere in between?
It's the bad cholesterol
LDL lipoproteins, or so-called bad cholesterol, deliver cholesterol to the cells of the body. Each of the cells takes in as much cholesterol as it needs at any given time. The problem is when there's more cholesterol than the cells can take in.
It's good cholesterol
As is usually the case, if there's bad cholesterol, it's got to be good. Somebody should finally put it in order. LDL and HDL lipoproteins complement each other very well. HDL collects cholesterol from the blood that's not been used by the cells and takes it back to the liver. It's broken down and excreted from the body in the liver, so HDL, unlike LDL, prevents the formation of atherosclerosis.
When should you be careful?
The side effect is that LDL lipoproteins outweigh HDL. However, too little of their HDL molecules causes unused cholesterol to not be transported back to the liver and can cause atherosclerosis, heart disease, heart attacks and strokes. To combat this, an appropriate diet should be used to increase the level of good cholesterol. LDL cholesterol levels increase after unfiltered coffee, pork, chicken skin and turkey, and may cause mayonnaise, sugar, alcohol, chips.