Cholesterol is a natural part of foods derived from animals. Meat, eggs, fish, poultry, and dairy products all contain cholesterol. Foods from plants, on the other hand, are free of cholesterol.

 

     The body produces all the cholesterol it needs, so cholesterol consumed in food is extra. Most of our dietary cholesterol ends up in the liver. Ordinarily, as dietary cholesterol enters the liver, the liver processes it and decreases its own production of cholesterol. This keeps the total amount of cholesterol in the blood regulated.

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     When cholesterol cannot be quickly processed by the liver, the process of atherosclerosis occurs. The situation is especially dangerous when the body continues to make the same amount of cholesterol regardless of the amount of dietary cholesterol consumed.

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     High cholesterol can result in heart attack, heart disease and stroke.