Our hearts are one of the most vital muscles in our bodies given if it stops working we no longer exist. Our hearts are the pumps which direct th fuel to all the significant parts of our bodies. It is constructed of four chambers with two on the left side and two on the right side.

The left side of the heart obtains blood rich in oxygen from our lungs into a second chamber named the left atrium. The blood then passes through a one-wayvalve into our largest chamber of the heart, the left ventricle, and then into the blood vessels (arteries) and from here the blood is pumped out to our brain, kidneys, liver, limbs and of course the heart itself.

The right sides of the heart muscle obtains the blood from the body into the right ventricle from the vessels aptly named as veins. Following the blood being received into the right atrium the oxygen has been removed and the blood is only carrying waste products including carbon dioxide which need to be expelled from our bodies. Our blood then navigates through another one-way valve into the right ventricle before being pumped into our lungs.

Carbon dioxide passes into the lungs and is expelled and replaced with more oxygen and it is interesting to note that this process itself happens 100,000 times every day without any practical input from yourself.

Although receiving a bad press of late, cholesterol is not all bad. Our bodies require cholesterol to help manufacture cell walls and produce hormones, but over excessive amounts of cholesterol will make you more prone to heart problems. To put this in perspective, only around 20% of cholesterol is a result of the food you eat. The remaining 80% is generated by your body's liver.

It is therefore important to ensure that your body does not consume excess amounts of cholesterol and the best way to control this is through a healthy and balanced diet consisting of fruit and vegetables, milk and dairy products, meat and fish, fats including, saturated fats, trans fats, mono saturated fats, polyunsaturated fats and of course, carbohydrates.

Some of the most nutritious foods like egg yolks and liver are also the foods richest in cholesterol. The anti-fat, anti-cholesterol campaign has demonized these foods for decades without any evidence they cause disease. To the contrary, they promote health.

Cholesterol may even be an essential nutrient for at least the one percent of the population that has a genetic defect preventing efficient cholesterol synthesis.

What should you eat for reducing cholesterol

To eat a heart-healthy diet, you need to cut down on foods high in saturated fats, like fried foods, red meat, processed meats (cold cuts and hot dogs), some kinds of cheese and most commercially prepared baked goods (muffins, cookies, doughnuts). Commercial food manufacturers are responding to health concerns by reducing saturated fats and trans-fats in their products. Make sure you check the nutrition labels on the foods you by to ensure you are getting the least possible amount of saturated and trans-fats.