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.
How cholesterol is produced?
The majority of cholesterol is produced naturally by our liver, about 75% of it, and the rest of it is coming from the foods that we eat- meat to be exact. Cholesterol does not dissolve in our blood so it needs to be carried by lipoprotein in our blood.There are two types of lipoprotein in our blood; Low density lipoprotein (LDL) and high density lipoprotein (HDL). LDL is commonly referred as the bad cholesterol as it tends to build-up in the artery walls as plaque and HDL is the good cholesterol as it carries the LDL from blood back to our liver and then remove it from our body all together.
What is the function of cholesterol?
Here are the basic functions of cholesterol.
It helps to build and maintain cell membranes.
It is essential in the process of cell permeability
It helps to convert sunshine to vitamin D.
Cholesterol helps in the synthesis of most steroid hormones such as, estrogens, progestins, androgens, glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids
HDL helps to bring LDL from our arteries back to our liver. LDL then will be broken down and will be removed from our body. Therefore, we always aim to increase the level of HDL in our blood as it helps reduce the bad cholesterol. However, if the amount of LDL is becoming too much for the liver to handle then the excessive LDL begins to accumulate and plaque starts to buildup in the artery walls.
What can we do about it?
There are no symptoms for having high cholesterol; symptoms are usually for other diseases caused by high cholesterol. Therefore, it is recommended to have your cholesterol levels checked once a year and try to keep them in optimal levels. High levels of cholesterol can cause heart disease and increase the risks of heart attack.
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.
How cholesterol is produced?
The majority of cholesterol is produced naturally by our liver, about 75% of it, and the rest of it is coming from the foods that we eat- meat to be exact. Cholesterol does not dissolve in our blood so it needs to be carried by lipoprotein in our blood.There are two types of lipoprotein in our blood; Low density lipoprotein (LDL) and high density lipoprotein (HDL). LDL is commonly referred as the bad cholesterol as it tends to build-up in the artery walls as plaque and HDL is the good cholesterol as it carries the LDL from blood back to our liver and then remove it from our body all together.
What is the function of cholesterol?
Here are the basic functions of cholesterol.
It helps to build and maintain cell membranes.
It is essential in the process of cell permeability
It helps to convert sunshine to vitamin D.
Cholesterol helps in the synthesis of most steroid hormones such as, estrogens, progestins, androgens, glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids
HDL helps to bring LDL from our arteries back to our liver. LDL then will be broken down and will be removed from our body. Therefore, we always aim to increase the level of HDL in our blood as it helps reduce the bad cholesterol. However, if the amount of LDL is becoming too much for the liver to handle then the excessive LDL begins to accumulate and plaque starts to buildup in the artery walls.
What can we do about it?
There are no symptoms for having high cholesterol; symptoms are usually for other diseases caused by high cholesterol. Therefore, it is recommended to have your cholesterol levels checked once a year and try to keep them in optimal levels. High levels of cholesterol can cause heart disease and increase the risks of heart attack.
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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