Is cholesterol a lipid, protein, or carbohydrate?

Understand the Problem

The question is asking to classify cholesterol into one of the three biological categories: lipid, protein, or carbohydrate. Cholesterol is a type of lipid, so the answer will focus on explaining its classification.

More Information

Cholesterol is an unsaturated type of lipid and is a crucial precursor for steroid hormones and bile acids.

Tips

A common mistake is confusing cholesterol with lipoproteins. Lipoproteins are complexes that include cholesterol plus proteins, but cholesterol itself is purely a lipid.

Sources

• What is cholesterol? | What are lipids? - Heart UK - heartuk.org.uk
• Fats and Other Lipids - Diet and Health - NCBI Bookshelf - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
• Cholesterol - The Nutrition Source - nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu