Including high-cholesterol foods as part of a healthy diet may not be the poor dietary choice we have all been told it is, suggests a new study published in the journal Nature Medicine. It turns out that cholesterol actually helps increase production of an important component of the nervous system that facilitates proper nerve cell communication, and prevents the onset of brain diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.

The study focused specifically on patients with a condition known as Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease (PMD), in which nerve cells are unable to properly manufacture protective myelin sheaths. It is these myelin sheaths, which are composed of lipid fats and proteins, that allow nerves to communicate and send appropriate electrical signals that trigger movement and cognition, and that protect nerves from damage.