It is commonly mistaken by many that cholesterol is bad for your health, but in fact, cholesterol is actually an essential element for our body; it is just having too much of it causes us problems.
Major sources of cholesterol
Some of the cholesterol in our bodies is produced naturally, and some of it is derived from foods we eat. It is a lipid, or fat that is produced by liver. Every cell in the body has a layer of cholesterol on the outside. Most of the cholesterol in the body comes from the liver; about seventy-five percent. The other twenty five percent comes meat that we eat. There are two types of cholesterol- good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. HDL is the "good" cholesterol and LDL is the "bad" cholesterol.
What does cholesterol do to our body?
Cholesterol has different functions in our body.
It is used to produce bile acid for emulsifying fat.
It is essential in the process of cell permeability
It is a building block for bodily tissues as it helps to repair old and injured cells
It absorbs fat soluble vitamins, such as A, D, E, and K.
LDL cholesterol transports cholesterol from the liver to the cells. If too much is transported, then the arteries can become clogged which increases the chances for heart disease. HDL, on the other hand, prevents arterial disease. It transports cholesterol away from the cells and back to the liver to be decomposed. Eating a diet that is full of trans and saturated fats can increase the amount of bad cholesterol in our body so it is important to develop a healthy eating habit.
What if we have high blood cholesterol?
Unfortunately, a person having high levels of cholesterol has no symptom or sign. Related symptoms such as chest pain or shortness of breath, are usually caused by other diseases developed because of high blood cholesterol, not high blood cholesterol itself that caused the symptoms. In addition, high blood cholesterol does not necessary have correlation to the person's lifestyle or eating habit as the condition can be genetic.
Although high cholesterol can be genetic or causes of other diseases such as diabetes or liver failure, but maintaining a healthy diet, exercise regularly and avoid excessive consumption of alcohol are ways to keep our cholesterol level in optimal levels.
Major sources of cholesterol
Some of the cholesterol in our bodies is produced naturally, and some of it is derived from foods we eat. It is a lipid, or fat that is produced by liver. Every cell in the body has a layer of cholesterol on the outside. Most of the cholesterol in the body comes from the liver; about seventy-five percent. The other twenty five percent comes meat that we eat. There are two types of cholesterol- good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. HDL is the "good" cholesterol and LDL is the "bad" cholesterol.
What does cholesterol do to our body?
Cholesterol has different functions in our body.
It is used to produce bile acid for emulsifying fat.
It is essential in the process of cell permeability
It is a building block for bodily tissues as it helps to repair old and injured cells
It absorbs fat soluble vitamins, such as A, D, E, and K.
LDL cholesterol transports cholesterol from the liver to the cells. If too much is transported, then the arteries can become clogged which increases the chances for heart disease. HDL, on the other hand, prevents arterial disease. It transports cholesterol away from the cells and back to the liver to be decomposed. Eating a diet that is full of trans and saturated fats can increase the amount of bad cholesterol in our body so it is important to develop a healthy eating habit.
What if we have high blood cholesterol?
Unfortunately, a person having high levels of cholesterol has no symptom or sign. Related symptoms such as chest pain or shortness of breath, are usually caused by other diseases developed because of high blood cholesterol, not high blood cholesterol itself that caused the symptoms. In addition, high blood cholesterol does not necessary have correlation to the person's lifestyle or eating habit as the condition can be genetic.
Although high cholesterol can be genetic or causes of other diseases such as diabetes or liver failure, but maintaining a healthy diet, exercise regularly and avoid excessive consumption of alcohol are ways to keep our cholesterol level in optimal levels.
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To find out the list of foods to lower cholesterol, please visit this blog for more info.
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