Sure, your own body makes about 1000 milligrams of the stuff everyday because you need it to survive and be healthy.

In the lens of your eye, cholesterol is found in high concentrations and may even help prevent cataracts.

The cholesterol in your skin actually helps your body make Vitamin D from the sun – needed to absorb calcium from your diet and calcium supplements – so it saves your skeleton.

Most of the cholesterol in your body is actually found in your tissues, not in your blood.

The cholesterol made by your body is used to make sterol hormones – estrogens, important for women, androgens (like testoterone) that men need and progestins such as progesterone that is important during pregnancy.

Others sterol hormones, called glucosteroids (you may know it as cortisol), increase the breakdown of fat and protein. Mineralcorticoids actually help control blood pressure.

So what raises your blood cholesterol levels?

Stress, too much animal “saturated” fat, too much total fat from all sources – good and not so good, and your genes. What can you do to lower your cholesterol? – stay tuned.