The word "cholesterol" has certainly become a famous word, and is usually associated with the words “fat” and “heart attack”. However, is this really all that there is to know about cholesterol? What is cholesterol and why is it associated with obesity and heart problems? Cholesterol can be both good and bad, so it's important to learn what cholesterol is, how it affects your health and how to manage your blood cholesterol levels. Understanding the facts about cholesterol will help you take better care of your heart and live a healthier life, reducing your risk for heart attack and stroke.
What is Cholesterol?
The word “cholesterol” comes from the Greek words “chole”, which means “bile”, and “stereos”, which means “solid”. This is because cholesterol was discovered and was first identified by researchers in solid form in gallstones.
Cholesterol is a complex alcohol constituent of all animal fats and oils. It is a sterol and a lipid that can be found of the cell membranes of all animal body tissues. It is also found in small amounts in plant membranes. Cholesterol is one of a group of compounds known as sterols and is related to other sterols such as sex hormones.
Cholesterol and the Body
Cholesterol is required by all cells of the human body, particularly to build and maintain cell membranes. Cholesterol keeps the membrane’s fluidity stable over wider temperature intervals. Cholesterol also aids in the manufacture of bile (which is required to digest fats), and is also important in the metabolism of fat soluble vitamins, such as vitamins A, D, E and K. it is also needed to synthesize vitamin D. it also has an important role in the immune system.
Getting Cholesterol
People get cholesterol in two ways. It can either be produced by the body or it can also be obtained from external sources. The liver produces varying amounts of cholesterol per day, and is responsible for about 25% of the total amount that the body produces. Other places that produce cholesterol include the intestines, adrenal glands and reproductive organs. However, cholesterol can be obtained from animal foods such as eggs and meat. Typically, the body produces all the cholesterol it needs and it doesn’t need to be taken from outside sources.
Cholesterol and the Heart
The types of cholesterol that are well-known to most people are in the blood. Your blood cholesterol level has a lot to do with the chances of getting a heart disease. The higher the blood cholesterol level, the higher the chances of getting a heart disease or suffering from a heart attack.
Cholesterol and other fats are not soluble in the blood, and have to be carried by using special molecules in the blood. These carriers are called lipoproteins. Though there are several kinds, let us focus on the two that are critical in determining the risk of having a heart disease: high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL).
LDL is the major cholesterol carrier in the blood. If too much LDL circulates in the blood, they may build up along the walls of the arteries and clog them up, causing heart diseases, heart attacks and strokes. On the other hand, HDL tends to remove excess cholesterol from plaques and therefore reduce the risk of artery clogging. Because of this, HDL and LDL have been labeled as “good cholesterol” and bad “cholesterol” respectively.
Keeping a healthy blood cholesterol count can help in reducing the risk for heart diseases, and it is achievable by a mix of having a proper diet, maintaining an active lifestyle and healthy living.
