You must be hearing about the terms like High cholesterol, Low cholesterol, LDL, HDL and Health risks from high cholesterol for quite some time now but don't know what they exactly mean. Do you find these terms alien and confusing? Not to worry anymore because here we are going to learn everything about cholesterol and the normal levels that you need to maintain in order to avoid health risks.

The question most asked by people visiting the medics is "What is cholesterol"? The waxy and soft substance that is found in our blood and body cells is Cholesterol. It is a very important substance of the body and is used to build hormones, cell membranes and is also required for various other life functions in the body. Cholesterol in our body is derived from two main sources; from the liver and from the foods that we eat. Cholesterol is blood soluble and is transported to various other parts of the body with the help of a substance called lipoproteins. The two important lipoproteins that we need an understanding about are HDL or high-density lipoprotein and LDL or low density lipoprotein.

HDL or good cholesterol helps in the transportation of blood cholesterol and also removes harmful plaque from the body. It transports the plaque to the liver where they are removed from the body. High HDL levels in the blood shields a person from various medical complications.

LDL is responsible for the transport of major portion of the blood cholesterol. High LDL content of the blood leads to its buildup on the arterial walls and result into a condition called atherosclerosis. LDL is also known as bad cholesterol for the above reason.

There is numerous health hazards related to the presence of high cholesterol in the blood, so it becomes imperative for a person to keep a check on it. High levels of blood cholesterol mostly affect the health of the heart and can result in to complications like coronary heart disease, angina, heart attack and heart stroke.

Medical experts check the Total blood cholesterol for detecting the cholesterol levels of the blood. The unit for the measurement of blood cholesterol is 'milligrams per deciliter' or mg/dl. Total blood cholesterol is the most common measurement of blood cholesterol. It's the number you receive as test results. Cholesterol is measured in milligrams per deciliter of blood (mg/dl).

For an adult a Total blood cholesterol level of 200 mg/dl is considered to normal and is considered to be less prone to heart diseases like coronary heart disease. Total blood cholesterol between 200 mg/dl to 239 gm/dl is considered to be a borderline level but anything above this mark means high blood cholesterol and is considered an abnormal amount. A high cholesterol level in the blood exposes a person to various cardiovascular diseases.