Q. What makes cholesterol good or bad for your health?
A. Cholesterol travels through the bloodstream packaged inside a protein called a lipoprotein. There are two kinds of lipoproteins that are important when discussing cholesterol— bad (LDL) cholesterol and
HDL (good) cholesterol. LDL cholesterol is considered “bad” because too much of it in your bloodstream can contribute to
plaque buildup in your
arteries over time, also known as
atherosclerosis.