Posts Tagged ‘HDL’

Let’s first understand what is cholesterol .. It’s a lipid or fat produced in liver.
All cells have cholesterol as outer layer .
It makes up the bile acids that work to digest food in the intestine.
It allows the body to make Vitamin D and hormones, like estrogen in women and testosterone in men.
Without cholesterol, none of these functions would take place, and without these functions, human beings wouldn’t exist.–
So now you know why cholesterol is necessary and let me tell you not all cholesterol is bad . It’s just a fashion now a days to blame all cholesterol for cardiovascular problems .

Cholesterol is carried in the blood as lipoproteins . It’s a combination of lipid and protein n it’s 3 types are

The Good AKA HDL ( high Density lipoprotein ) which carries cholesterol from body to liver where it is broken down or removed as waste from body so it’s termed The Good Cholesterol

The Bad AKA LDL ( low Density Lipoprotein ) Which deposits cholesterol in cells from liver . So if you have more LDL then it deposits more cholesterol in arteries thus causing the clogging .

The Triglyceride is the form in which most of the fats exist .

Thus when one has higher LDL and Triglyceride the risk of cardiac problem increases.
The risk of these increasing depends on Genetic Predisposition , wrong Eating Habits , Bad Lifestyle .
But one should also understand that evenif you take Zero Cholesterol Diets ( Aka Fad Diet), your body can still make cholesterol on it’s own . (Mother nature knew, in coming future there would b zero cholesterol diets so she had foresight to keep reins in her hand .)
So if you are genetically predisposed you will be prone to high cholesterol which might lead to clogging of blood vessels .( Imagine a clogged kitchen drainage ) . As blood supply to heart is obstructed , one is at risk of getting s heart Attack .

One more interesting fact is women in menopausal age as Estrogen lowers loose the umbrella protection against LDL thus increase risk of cardiovascular diseases as against menstruating women . Also contrary to established fact that men are more prone to cardio problems now it’s proven fact that even menopausal and post Menopausal women are at risk . So after 40s monitoring blood cholesterol levels is absolutely necessary as I have already mentioned in my earlier blog about Annual Check ups .
One should be aware of their family history about cardiac complications and high cholesterol levels . If one is genetically predisposed then following a fitness regime , eating right n healthy , tackling stress positively are the necessary steps to manage good cholesterol levels .

Now I think you are pretty clear about Cholesterol The good , The Bad & The Necessary !