Cholesterol is essential for the hormones

Published in Endocr Rev, Vol. 3 (3): 299-329

The Role of Lipoproteins in Steroidogenesis and Cholesterol Metabolism in Steroidogenic Glands
JOHN T. GWYNNE and JEROME F. STRAUSS, III
Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104

This paper can be accessed at: http://edrv.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/3/3/299

Gwynne comments that cholesterol is essential for the production of hormones such as:
androgens
testosterone
estrogens 
progesterone
corticoids
cortisol
aldosterone

He notes that in the glands of adrenal, ovary, placenta, and possibly the testes of  man, lipoprotein cholesterol (cholesterol circulating in the blood) is the major source of cholesterol used in the manufacture of hormones.

AMAZON UK The Diet Delusion
AMAZON USA Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health (Vintage)