The downsides of eating a high-fat diet have been repeatedly reported. A high-fat diet has been linked to high cholesterol and ultimately heart attacks. Therefore, people have started avoiding meat and eggs. But cholesterol is not bad. Our body needs it to protect nerves and build new cells and hormones. Only when we include foods such as pizzas, hamburgers, ice cream, steaks or any food that contains animal products, does the problem begin. Excess cholesterol builds up along the walls of the arteries and can clog them, restricting blood flow. This results in angina, heart attack, or stroke. High cholesterol has also been shown to lead to gallstones. There are two types of cholesterol called good cholesterol or HDL and bad cholesterol or LDL. LDL is the cholesterol that clogs the arteries and should be lower while HDL travels through the walls of the arteries and removes harmful LDL and should be higher.