Cholesterol has always been a matter of interest for many health-conscious people for decades now. You could see people and doctors talking about cholesterol more often to improve your health and reduce the risk of heart disease as well. So, what exactly is this cholesterol? is it that bad? Here are 5 things that you need to know about cholesterol before avoiding it completely. 

• Cell Strength and Flexibility: Cholesterol acts like a helpful construction worker in our bodies, building strong walls for our cells. Just like a sturdy fence protects a house, cholesterol helps keep our cells strong and flexible. This way, our cells can do their jobs properly, keeping us healthy and functioning well.
• Making Hormones for Balance: Think of cholesterol as a superhero factory that creates important messengers called hormones. These hormones help our bodies grow, manage stress, and keep our moods balanced. These hormones include testosterone, oestrogen, cortisol etc. They’re like the traffic lights of our body, making sure everything runs smoothly and stays in harmony.
• Sunshine Vitamin Production: When we soak up the sun, our bodies use cholesterol to make something special called vitamin D. It’s like a magical potion that helps keep our bones strong, our immune systems fighting off germs, and our bodies feeling energised and happy.
• Digestive Helper: Imagine cholesterol as a friendly chef in our bodies’ kitchens, helping to break down big pieces of food. It helps make something called bile acids, which act like little helpers that chop up fats from our meals into smaller pieces. This makes it easier for our bodies to absorb the good stuff from our food and use it to keep us healthy and strong.
• Brain’s Best Friend: Cholesterol is like a supportive friend to our brains, helping to keep things running smoothly up there. It’s involved in building and maintaining the connections between our nerve cells, kind of like strengthening the wires in our brain’s communication network. This helps us think clearly, remember things, and stay sharp as a tack.

As with anything in your life, too much of even good things can turn harmful. it’s always better to keep your cholesterol levels in check, otherwise High cholesterol levels, can lead to various health risks.