What Is Cholesterol
Cholesterol is something that many of us have to be careful because of the crazy and hectic lifestyle that we live. Many of us will grab meals that are quick and also not healthy to our bodies despite how good they might taste.
Cholesterol is a soft, fatty substance that can be found in the bodies’ bloodstream and is important in the normal function of cells within the body. Cholesterol found in the blood originates from two main sources - dietary (through things we eat) and liver production.
• Dietary cholesterol comes mainly from meat, fish, poultry and dairy products. Organ meats, liver for example, are very high in cholesterol content while plants contain no cholesterol.
• The liver is capable of both removing and manufacturing cholesterol in the bloodstream. After eating meals the liver removes chylomicrons (metabolized balls of fat and cholesterol), while in between meals the liver manufactures and secretes cholesterol back into the blood circulation.
Cholesterol needs help to be transported through the bloodstream, as it’s insoluble in blood. It makes it’s way through the circulatory system with the help of lipoprotein, which helps to carry fats around the body. There are two major types of lipoprotein - low density (LDL) and high density HDL) that transport cholesterol from and to the liver.
• LDL (low density lipoprotein) is known as the bad cholesterol. LDL can slowly build up in the inner walls of the body’s arteries that feed the heart and brain and, together with other substances, can form plaque - a thick, hard deposit that can narrow the arteries and make them less flexible. This condition is known as atherosclerosis, and increase the likelyhood that plaque will break off and form a clot thereby blocking an artery - which can lead to angina (chest pain), a heart attack or stroke.
• HDL (high density lipoprotein) is known as the good cholesterol as having high levels help to protect against atherosclerosis. HDL carries cholesterol out of the arteries and back to the liver, removing excess cholesterol from arterial plaque and slowing it’s buildup.
With that being said, having a high level of LDL cholesterol and a low level of HDL cholesterol is commonly known as high cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia), a risk factor for atherosclerosis, while having a low level of LDL cholesterol and high level of HDL cholesterol is ideal. Total cholesterol is the sum of LDL, HDL, VLDL (very low density), and IDL (intermediate density) cholesterol.