‘Good’ cholesterol in the blood is called HDL. What high density lipoprotein, or ‘good’ cholesterol, does is to ‘sweep up’ the ‘bad’ cholesterol from your blood stream. That’s why it’s generally considered ‘good’.
HDL stands for ‘High Density Lipoprotein’. Compared to the ‘bad’ cholesterol, or LDL, HDL has more protein than cholesterol in it.
HDL is made in the liver and it collects the cholesterol from within cell membranes. From there it takes the cholesterol to the liver where it’s processed by the liver.
With increasing HDL to LDL ratio comes a lower risk of CHD (coronary heart disease). When you have a blood cholesterol test you’ll usually get a total overall number, but the ratio between LDL and HDL is important to get the true picture.
