What your cholesterol value says about your heart

Cholesterol gets bad press, but your body genuinely needs it. It sits in every cell, helps build hormones, and is a precursor to vitamin D. The trouble starts only when too much of the wrong type circulates in your bloodstream.

What exactly is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a fat-like substance produced by your liver. You also take some in through food — mainly animal products like meat, eggs and dairy. Because cholesterol does not dissolve in blood, it travels around in protein parcels called lipoproteins.

The different types

LDL — the "bad" cholesterol

LDL (Low-Density Lipoprotein) carries cholesterol from your liver to the rest of your body. A high LDL value means surplus cholesterol stays in your blood, where it can deposit in your artery walls. Over time this narrows the vessels — a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

HDL — the "good" cholesterol

HDL (High-Density Lipoprotein) does the opposite: it picks up surplus cholesterol from your blood and returns it to the liver to be broken down. The higher your HDL, the better protected you are.

When is your value too high?

In the Netherlands the total cholesterol and the LDL/HDL ratio are typically used. A total value below 5 mmol/l is considered desirable. But a single number does not tell the whole story — age, sex, blood pressure and family history all play into your risk profile.

What can you do yourself?

• Replace saturated fat (butter, fatty meat, cheese) partly with unsaturated fat (olive oil, nuts, oily fish).