Cholesterol is a fat-like material found only in foods made from animals. Cholesterol is essential to life, helping create certain hormones and playing an important role in the central nervous system. The body, specifically the liver, makes cholesterol every day.
Unhealthy levels of cholesterol can result from eating foods that contain saturated fat, trans fat or dietary cholesterol.
Not all cholesterol is "bad." Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is the type that may build up in the arteries and cause heart disease or stroke. But high-density lipoprotein (HDL) is a form of cholesterol that appears to protect against heart disease. A cholesterol test helps doctors figure out how much of each type of cholesterol is present in the blood.
Factors like exercise and healthy body weight can increase how much HDL the body makes.