Cholesterol is a wax-like substance found in the lipids -- or fats --
of your blood. It is not a fat itself. Your body needs a certain amount
of this compound -- we talk about this a bit later -- but too much of
this substance is shown statistically to correlate with increased
incidence of heart disease, and this is usually accompanied by
inflammation.
Believe it or not, your body actually manufactures
cholesterol and is in every cell of your body. Your liver produces about
1,000 milligrams of it a day, in fact.
Cholesterol serves important functions in the body.
Without
it, life would not be possible. In fact it is used in every cell of
your body: it is part of the cell wall integrity, it is the precursor to
steroid hormones, and it is part of the digestive system. Great
portions of your brain are made of cholesterol; it is especially
important for neuron development in your brain. Too low cholesterol runs
the risk of low intelligence or mental health problems.
The
structure of the cholesterol molecule is exactly like the structure of a
steroid molecule, it is a complex ringed structure and completely
unlike any fat or protein molecules. The body easily converts it into
the necessary steroid hormones, such as testosterone, estrogen, and
progesterone.
The presence of cholesterol in your body:
• Directs the development of certain cells in a growing fetus.
• Is a portion of the membranes that protect each and every cell in your body.
• Is found in plentiful supply in your brain, which is composed mostly of fatty tissue. (Who knew?)
• Helps to create hormones, including testosterone and the adrenal hormone, cortisol.
• Is found in digestive juices, like bile.
• Is needed for the creation of vitamin D, manufactured when sun activates the fatty tissues just under your skin.
• Helps to build synapse, the vital structures through which your nerve cells send messages.
Did you have any idea it was this important? And now you know why too little of it is also unhealthy.
By
itself, cholesterol can't transport through your bloodstream as it
won't mix, much like oil and water. It must be transported by
piggy-backing onto other molecules, in this case, a combination of fat
and protein, called a lipoprotein.
What is good and bad cholesterol?
There
are several sizes and densities of lipoproteins, the main ones of focus
here are high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and low-density lipoproteins
(LDL). These two are more commonly called "good" or "bad" cholesterol. A
good way to remember them are LDL, what we typically label as bad,
starts with "L" for lousy. Similarly, the HDL is the good cholesterol
starts with "H", for healthy.
Neither of them are bad or good:
they each serve different functions. The reason why LDL is called "bad"
is that if we have too much of it, it means we could be at risk for
heart disease and stroke. If we are suffering from inflammation, the
liver pumps up the production of LDL cholesterol to go cover the
inflammation like a bandaid. This is what could clog the arteries.
The "good" cholesterol follows and sweeps out the deposited LDL cholesterol once inflammation cools. This is why we should have an optimal ratio of good to bad cholesterol. You see, this is one
situation where heart disease and clogged arteries can be REVERSED!
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