It's not. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Cholesterol and cholesterol containing foods have such an undeserved bad rap. Your body needs cholesterol. Yes, it needs it. And, when you starve your body of it (by say eating only egg whites not yolks or drinking low fat or fat free milk) your body actually holds onto cholesterol because it needs cholesterol.

Cholesterol is a waxy substance found in your bloodstream, as well as in every cell in your body. This necessary substance helps to produce cell membranes, hormones, vitamin D and bile acids that help you to digest fat. Cholesterol is also imperative in cognitive and neurological functioning. Without it your memory fails, you skin is sallow, your body will hold onto weight and chronic inflammation will wreak havoc on your health.

Huffington Post ran a piece last week entitled, The Cholesterol Myth That Could Be Harming Your Health. It is an extremely articulate and well-written article.

The main takeaways from the article:
* A cholesterol level of over 200 is NOT an indicator of heart disease
* Cholesterol lowering medication are unnecessary and over-prescribed
* Your body needs a fairly normal to “high” level of circulating cholesterol to function properly
* Blood (serum) levels of C-Reactive Protein (CRP) is the best way to determine
your risk of heart disease

If you believe that cholesterol is bad for you, or that having a total cholesterol over 200 predisposes you to heart disease, or that there is “good” cholesterol and “bad” cholesterol I suggest you give the Huffington Post article a read. It will be an eye-opener for many of you.