Why You Need Cholesterol For Your Mental Health

And how it could even save your life

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Think cholesterol, and you probably think heart disease. But without this fat-like substance, you wouldn’t be able to think about anything much at all. It is one of the most important substances in the brain. Keep it there.

The brain has the highest concentration of cholesterol in the body, with 25% of the body’s total store. Because it is so crucial, the brain makes its own supply.

With all that in mind, it stands to reason that without enough of this essential brain nutrient, you could run into trouble. That trouble may take the form of memory problems and/or depression, and other issues relating to mental health.

There is a well established link between cholesterol and brain function. In a study of 789 men and 1105 women, which examined the relationship between total cholesterol (TC) and cognitive performance, it was found that:

“Lower naturally occurring TC levels are associated with poorer performance on cognitive measures, which place high demands on abstract reasoning, attention/concentration, word fluency, and executive functioning.”