According to ayurveda, cholesterol isn’t bad in and of itself, however, it can have harmful effect when ama is present in the body.Ama, are metabolic left-overs that accumulate like toxins in the fat tissue. Simple ama is the sticky, foul-smelling waste product of improper digestion, which can block the channels of the body, such as the arteries. A more reactive, dangerous type of ama, amavisha is created when ama is present for a very long time and is not cleansed from the system. When excessive, accumulated ama begins to spread throughout the body, it becomes mixed up with the dhatus (body tissues) and the malas (waste products). Once amavisha gets mixed in with the fat tissue, it damages the shrotas, and this in turn leads to problems such as high cholesterol, heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure.