Having high cholesterol can make your body feel like a ticking time bomb.

High cholesterol, like elevated blood sugar, is a silent thief which siphons off health gains before you notice, thus causing lots of damage.

The villain of the piece is low-density lipoprotein or LDL (bad) cholesterol which contributes to plaque buildup along with triglycerides, another kind of lipid.

The other kind of cholesterol is the high-density lipoprotein, or HDL (good) cholesterol which works counter to the LDL and discourages plaque buildup.