Is your cholesterol high?

The answer may depend on whether it’s January or June.

An observational study of 25,764 Danes found that after gorging on traditional holiday foods throughout December, their bloodstreams were swimming with low-density-lipoprotein—the “bad” cholesterol commonly known as LDL.

People need cholesterol to make hormones, vitamin D and other substances, but trouble arises when the waxy matter builds up inside the walls of arteries, hardening into plaque that restricts the flow of blood and increases the risk of heart disease.