Cholesterol...the good, the bad, the ugly.

We have been taught that "cholesterol" is a bad word, and it will build up in your body and lead to heart disease.

I have some good news...not all cholesterol is bad!

In fact, we need cholesterol for our bodies to function!

There are two types of cholesterol, LDL and HDL.

HDL cholesterol stands for High Density Lipoprotein cholesterol, and this is the good stuff. This cholesterol takes the "bad" cholesterol out and keeps your blood vessels clean and happy.

LDL cholesterol stands for Low Density Lipoprotein cholesterol, and this is the bad stuff, the stuff that doctors warn you about if your cholesterol levels get too high. There are two types of LDL cholesterol, one consisting of large molecules and one consisting of small molecules. The large molecules of "bad" cholesterol are too big to do any real damage to our arteries, so this isn't as much of a concern. The small molecules, however, are small enough to get under the cells that line our arteries, and this is what causes heart disease and other nasty conditions.

Some more good news though; we can alter the levels of the small LDL cholesterol very easily. We've been taught that its the fat in our diets that's giving us a heartache, but its actually the sugar.

The more refined carbohydrates we consume, the higher our levels of small LDL cholesterol.

So, for a healthier heart, consume less sugar! Stay away from foods that contain refined carbohydrates, like white bread/bagels, muffins, cookies, snack foods, etc. Eating more complex carbohydrates like whole grains will limit the amount of "bad" cholesterol that will be produced, and keep your heart healthy!