Dr. Ted Feldman, Medical Director of Prevention and Community Health with Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute, says cholesterol is an organic molecule in your body, a modification of a steroid molecule: “Cholesterol is essential for the structural integrity of all the cells in the body, so the cell membrane which contains and protects the cell from the outside world is made up structurally from cholesterol.”

He points out cholesterol helps transport fats in the body; when there is an excess of cholesterol, those deposits wind up in blood vessels and lead to atherosclerosis, or blockage, or plaque in the arteries. That can lead to heart attacks and brain strokes.