Cholesterol: the good, the bad and the confusing

More recently, we were told cholesterol may not be as bad as we once thought. Turns out, every cell in our body contains cholesterol and we actually need it for some pretty important jobs, including:

• Helping to make key hormones, such as estrogen and testosterone
• Synthesizing Vitamin D
• Building and maintaining vital cell membranes
• Helping create substances that help us digest food

To make matters more confusing, there are two major types of cholesterol - serum cholesterol, which is cholesterol found in the bloodstream and dietary cholesterol, which is cholesterol found in food. This article is about serum cholesterol.

But even serum cholesterol has two different types:  HDL =  Good.   LDL = Bad.