An accurate description of the Cholesterol structure would be a waxy, and fatty type substance that is made primarily by the liver and also found in some foods such as dairy produce, meat,eggs and poultry.

It’s primary role is to create hormones and cell membranes and it is transported around the body in the blood vessels.

This important Cholesterol structure allows the body to make bile chemicals which help digestion and the effective breakdown of foods in the body. As well as helping to manufacture bile it plays a role in creating hormones and utilizing vitamin D.

Whilst Cholesterol is vital to everyday, healthy functioning of the body, high cholesterol levels in the blood can build up and cause long term damage to the arteries which can potentially lead to angina and heart disease.

However we only need a certain amount and anything over and above this can be detrimental to our health.

When we have too much cholesterol in our blood the bad cholesterol can stick to the inside of the blood vessels which builds up over a period of time to cause a narrowing or furring. Over time this narrowing causes coronary artery disease (solidifying from the arterial blood vessels) and is one of the biggest cause of heart attacks and cardiovascular disease.

The reason is that If not enough oxygen-rich blood gets through to the heart, it becomes lacking in oxygen and at worst can potentially kill the section of heart that is not receiving this oxygenated blood. This is called a heart attack, although this is not the only cause of heart attacks. A lesser problem although still as worrying to the sufferer is angina, where the blood supply to the part of the heart has not stopped completely, but is slow enough to cause a shortfall which manifests itself to the sufferer as pain in the chest or a vice like grip.

More About Cholesterol Structure

Cholesterol moves around the circulatory system attached to a protein. This union of cholesterol and protein is known as a lipoprotein and these can be termed as high or low density depending on the Cholesterol structure related to the amount of protein in each particle

Low density lipoprotein or LDL’s as they are commonly known are what we call bad Cholesterol because these are the type that stick to the blood vessels causing the narrowing that eventually leads to angina and heart disease. The more LDL’s in the blood, the more chances there is for heart disease to occur.

High density lipoprotein’s or HDL’s are what we would describe as GOOD Cholesterol because this type of Cholesterol structure helps in the removal of the bad cholesterol we have in our bodies. The more of this type of Cholesterol we have then the healthier we are and the more LDL’s the worse off we are with a much higher likelihood of suffering from health problems.

One final Cholesterol structure that we will look at here is Triglycerides, although not strictly Cholesterol merely a substance that attaches to it.

Triglycerides are yet another problem for us to deal with. They are another form of fat which is transported around the body attached to LDL’s. When we regularly take in excesses of drink, sugars and fats they can be converted into triglycerides and stored as body fat in our fat cells throughout the body.

As we’ve discussed the Cholesterol structure can be both good and bad. The good Cholesterol or HDL helps us to get rid of the bad LDL’s we have racing through our bodies all the time.