How cholesterol affects the heart: a doctor from the USA explains

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Most people know , that high cholesterol is bad for their heart, but few people really understand what cholesterol is. Dr. Claire Haga, a Mayo Clinic family physician, explains why it's so closely linked to heart problems. She also discusses the power you can control.

We see it on food labels and hear it talked about by health professionals, but few people know what cholesterol actually is.

“You really need cholesterol to help build a healthy brain. However, there is bad cholesterol, and it is this that creates plaques in our arteries,” says Dr. Haga. “And that's what we're worried about.”

Cholesterol is a waxy substance found in fats in the blood. With high cholesterol, fatty deposits can form in the blood vessels, which can eventually make it difficult for enough blood to pass through the arteries.

“So bad cholesterol, when these plaques form, if they break, they can… cause a heart attack or even cause a stroke,” says Dr. Haga. Dr. Haga says that what you eat affects your cholesterol, so you have the ability to control it.

Examples of trans fats would mostly be your prepackaged foods, sometimes things like donuts and cookies,” says Dr. Haga. “There are products made from shortening, fast food, fried food. [You should] really try to … get rid of them.”

You should also reduce your intake of saturated fat, which is often found in animal products such as bacon or butter.

Dr. Haga says you can also lower your cholesterol if you eat more omega-3s, which are good fats found in fish, nuts and avocados. Increasing the amount of whey protein in the diet can also lower cholesterol.