What's the difference between good and bad cholesterol?

Good and bad: Good cholesterol or HDL has been shown to be beneficial, or rather a high HDL is a negative risk for heart disease. Bad cholesterol, or LDL is a risk factor for heart disease so that should be kept as low as possible. These are affected by heredity, diet and exercise and you can change them to lower your risk.

Nothing: Cholesterol is neither good or bad. The idea of good and bad cholesterol come from our use of cholesterol as an common way of estimating the quantity of "good" (HDL) and "bad" (ldl) lipoprotein particles that carry cholesterol in the blood. Research has established that it is the number of LDL and HDL particles, not the cholesterol inside the particle, that is the true measure of chd risk.

Benefit vs harm: LDL (low density lipoprotein) is typically referred to as "bad" cholesterol. An elevation in LDL increases your risk of heart attack and stroke. HDL (high density lipoprotein) is protective, and a higher HDL actually lowers your risk.