Cholesterol is an essential body fat (lipid) that is found in every cell in the body and carried in the blood. Our bodies need cholesterol to stay healthy, but too high a level represents a health risk, especially with heart disease (UK levels for which are among the highest in the world) and strokes.

Most of the cholesterol in our bodies is made our in livers, although our diet also plays a part: dietary cholesterol is found in animal foods such as meat, poultry, fish, seafood and dairy products. Egg yolks have particularly high levels of cholesterol.

In the bloodstream, cholesterol falls into two categories:

• Low density lipoproteins (LDL), or bad cholesterol, which is the most common form. A high LDL level increases the risk of heart disease, as it builds up on artery walls, hardening and narrowing the arteries and reducing blood flow
• High density lipoproteins (HDL), or good cholesterol, HDL carries cholesterol back to the liver for disposal and is therefore good for maintaining the heart and preventing narrowing of the arteries

Maintaining the balance between LDL and HDL cholesterol is important: LDL levels can be controlled by adopting a low fat diet, while exercise can increase HDL levels. High LDL levels are compounded by high blood pressure, furthering increasing the risk of a heart attack. Smokers are even more vulnerable.

The typical UK diet is high in saturated fat, which leads the body to make more cholesterol than it can dispose of: the UK's heart diseases levels are among the highest in the world.

Why test?
High cholesterol levels display no symptoms: you may be entirely unaware that you have a potential problem. If your family has a history of heart disease (as cholesterol levels may be partly hereditary), you are overweight, smoke, or have diabetes, you should have your cholesterol levels checked. Cholesterol is diagnosed from a blood test.

High cholesterol is a treatable condition, largely through making healthy changes in your diet (especially in avoiding saturated fats, although medication may be prescribed in some cases. Most individuals can reduce their cholesterol level by up to 20% by reducing their intake of foods high in cholesterol and fat.

How BookaTEST can help?
At BookaTEST we want you to stay healthy - as a health problem that presents no visible symptoms yet can be treated successfully, high cholesterol levels are a factor that you can take action on once you are aware that a problem needs to be tackled.

We offer two home test kits: a Total Cholesterol Screen Test, measuring the overall level of cholesterol found, and a Total and HDL Cholesterol Test, which separately measure both the overall level of cholesterol and the level of HDL, enabling you to determine the balance between the two types.