What You Should Know About Cholesterol?

 

All vertebrates need cholesterol to sustain health of the outer membrane cells.

It circulates in the blood to settle in body tissues and blood plasma in forms of fatty lipids (steroids) and alcohol.

Cholesterol is maintained to balanced levels that must not exceed what our body needs.

The human body produces oils and other substances that circulate in the bloodstream.

An example is insulin, which is secreted from the pancreas in response to the increase in the amount of sugar coming from the food that the person eats.

The cells then absorb this, which gives the individual calories that are used as energy. Another substance that the body produces naturally is cholesterol. This is also ingested in the food people eat.

Cholesterol is a very familiar medical term almost to anyone, particularly the middle age group.  It is a common thing the word will never be a part of teenage lingo.

The main reason is, most of the dreaded ailments accompanying “high cholesterol” levels are associated with hypertension, heart failure, diabetes and other long-term and acquired conditions, which does not could also happen to the younger generation as juvenile complications.

To make it clear, when the majority is talking about lowering cholesterol, it is all about alleviating the further progress of bad cholesterol.

Types of Cholesterol

There are two types of cholesterol namely LDL and HDL.

LDL (low-density lipoproteins) is better known as bad cholesterol.

The reason why it is bad is because too much of this in the system may put the person at risk of suffering from either a heart attack or a stroke.

HDL (high-density lipoproteins) in simple terms is good cholesterol because its job is to regulate the flow the bad one so this can be filtered out of the person’s system. There must be a balanced between the two so the individual is healthy.

Whenever people get a blood test, the patient will see a breakdown of the LDL and HDL in the system.

Though not that significant as the first two, doctors pay attention to two other figures namely the total cholesterol and the triglyceride level.

Let us educate first on how Cholesterol functions and affects body metabolic interference before we ever discuss eliminating its excesses.

When a doctor mentions of cholesterol, he is definitely addressing such to the low-density lipoproteins (LDL), considered the “bad cholesterol.” 

The way lipoproteins act as the carrier molecules, it deposits the LDL to the walls of the arteries that cause it to thicken and become devoid of normal blood passage causing atherosclerosis.

 

High-density lipoprotein is “good cholesterol.” 

One of the   various uses of good cholesterol act as anti-oxidant, and help manufacture bile, that aids to digest fats essential to the functions of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K.

All these mentioned vitamins help in the metabolism functions in the reproductive organs, from puberty developmental process until the ripe age that has to do with the effects of estrogen level in the body.

In order to be given a clean bill of health, the patient must stay within a certain range. Those who have less than 200 mg/dl in total cholesterol are safe. The same goes for someone who has less than 150 mg/dl in the triglycerides.

So what happens if the person goes beyond the limit?  In simple terms, the individual is at risk of developing high blood pressure or a heart disease. The good news is that the person can still prevent such a thing from happening.

Bad cholesterol or low-density lipoprotein is harmful because it can cause atheroma.

Atheroma is considered to be the plaque of the arteries, commonly referred to as fat streaks.

If not watched carefully, accumulation of ‘macrophage white blood cells’ can happen to a child even before the age of 10.

The early symptoms may start as early as 5 years old, while the child grows up and the condition is accumulating quietly in the veins.

Most of the time, the exact symptoms are only given prognosis after the onset of heart attack or stroke, which is already too late for the patient.

The attack of silent killers may not cause death but chances are it can lead to lifetime disability.

It is debilitating to imagine how high levels of bad cholesterol can cause serious consequences to the body.

When most people may appear healthy all the time, cholesterols can only be checked through lab tests.

Sometimes, it surprises people to find out how high their cholesterol build-up has soared for the past years.

There is no mystery behind the strengthening of bad cholesterol other than high consumption of saturated fats in the diet.

In the advent of labels or guides in processed foods like canned goods and other packed products in the groceries, it is easy to see the amount of cholesterol a food has.

This is just a small matter on how to grasp the essence of being cholesterol conscious.

The major way to lower down cholesterol levels in the body is to understand how it metabolizes in the body.  Cholesterol does not actually come from diet alone.

It is a whole process within where diet is just one of the contributing factors.

Good cholesterol aids in the body’s biochemical functioning like producing bile, regulating of vitamins that are fat soluble such as A, K, D, and E.

It also has an impact on the synthesis of the body hormone.  After cholesterol has been utilized in the body, it excretes as excess lipids in the liver and gall bladder as crystal particles.

Because cholesterol is not water soluble, it circulates over and over and gets converted to bad cholesterol (low-density lipoproteins).

For normal individuals with healthy metabolism, bad cholesterol is minimal and comes in as large quantities.  The harmful ones are those that come in many numbers of small sizes trapped in the veins as accumulated clogs.

When it comes to lowering high cholesterol, basically there is nothing to ponder about genetic weaknesses, the key is watching over food intake.

Cholesterol is highly present in animal meats and fats, especially pork and beef.  It is easy to watch fatty foods with all the precautions available today.  But it takes discipline to live a life with less cholesterol consumption.

Main Sources of Good Cholesterol:

1. Three-fourth (75%) of it comes from within the body or produced internally through the results from synthesizing from densely packed membranes like liver, central nervous system (spinal cord, includes brain), reproductive organs, adrenal gland, and atheroma.

The degenerative changes in the atheroma result to the  development of atherosclerotic plaques and coronary artery disease that affect the natural flow of the blood.

When this happens it causes the sudden block of the in and outflow of blood from the heart; most of the time causing heart strokes, possibly fatal.

 

2. One-fourth (25%) comes from the food intake (external source).

This is where you must be alerted on what to take in your daily diet.

Fats originated from animals are rich in cholesterol, like egg yolk, dairy, and meat, regardless of whatever type of meat source.

Observe keenly about tolerating excess of this second cholesterol essential for as you see, it takes only a last portion of that last quart necessary.  A mistake in this will surely make up for “cholesterol imbalance.”

 

Ways to Lower Idle Cholesterol (excess of the 25% Food Originated Cholesterol): 

Select intake of fats from non-saturated cooking oil or direct fat sources from animals.  One of the best cooking oil that produces unsaturated fat is olive oil.

Other palm oils like coconut are highly saturated.  Take low-content-sodium cholesterol fats. Instead, eat high fiber vegetables and fruits, and complex carbohydrates.

Examples of this are corn, soybeans and legumes, nuts, wheat, and other staple cereals.

 

Refrain from eating at fast foods and other restaurants. They present high-fat saturated foods and rich in sodium.  Also remember, that alcohol and sugar enhance the degree of cholesterol level, so avoid excessive hard drink sprays.

 

Recent researches reveal that the presence of the Omega-3 fat acid present in Salmon, mackerel, certain tuna species, and other deep sea hunts aids in lowering idle cholesterol.

If Idle Cholesterol is raised to high levels, seek medications as HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, Statins, such as lovastatin (Mevacor), and atorvastatin (Liptor), most effective to lower LD, of course with physician’s guidance.

Low Cholesterol Can Be Dangerous

You will find that when your doctor talks to you about your cholesterol levels they will begin to put a lot of fear in your head.

High cholesterol is a long term problem that will lead to serious things like heart disease and strokes, which can be deadly.

However, you will find that you can lower your risks and take steps to make sure that you lead a healthy and full feeling life.

You will find that you may suffer from lower levels, but you may also be high, however, you will need to talk to your doctor about how you can bring your cholesterol back to normal through various methods.

There are many factors that will contribute to you have low cholesterol in your body. Anything lower than 160 mg/dL is considered abnormally low and should be carefully monitored by doctors.

Hypocholesterolemia, liver disease, malabsorption, celiac disease, malnutrition, and a manganese deficiency could one of the money factors that will cause you to have too low cholesterol.

A small percentage of people also have very low levels of cholesterol in the blood stream due to abetalipoproteinemia, a rare genetic disease.

Abetalipoproteinemia is a condition that mainly affects the Jewish population and not only causes low cholesterol levels but also causes vitamin deficiencies and an inability to grow and gain weight at a normal rate.

Hypobetalipoproteinemia is a rare genetic disease that is caused by a gene defect, but it will also make the cholesterol levels lower in the blood system.

Low cholesterol, lastly, can be caused if medications used to treat high cholesterol are used improperly.

There is a common concern throughout the medical community about the lower cholesterol levels. In general, low cholesterol goes hand-in-hand with poor health.

Thus, mortality rates rise with low cholesterol. There are some common problems when it comes to the low cholesterol that includes thinks like issues with the respiratory system, depression, hemorrhagic stroke and more.

Nevertheless, studies are still being done to test theories about these problems and their link to low cholesterol levels in the body.

When it comes to the links for depression, you will want to be sure that you ask your doctor to check out your cholesterol levels because you may be suffering from depression because of your low cholesterol. Elderly patients should also be especially mindful of low cholesterol.

 

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