Cholesterol is it Really Bad for your health?

Cholesterol is it Really Bad for your health?

What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a soft, waxy substance found in every cell of the body. It contributes to the  maintenance of the nervous system, skin, muscle, liver, intestines and heart.
The word "cholesterol" refers either to cholesterol in the body (blood cholesterol) or that present in food (dietary cholesterol).
Where does cholesterol come from?
If you're like most people, you probably think that the cholesterol in your blood comes from food. In fact, dietary cholesterol has little impact on your blood cholesterol levels. The majority of cholesterol is produced naturally by your liver and the rest is extracted from alimentation and absorbed by your body .
Dietary cholesterol is found in animal source foods such as dairy products, egg yolks, poultry, red meat and certain types of shellfish,plant-derived foods, such as cereals, fruits and vegetables, may contain trace amounts of dietary cholesterol.
Dietary cholesterol does not increase the risk of heart disease:
Dietary cholesterol is the least understood type of cholesterol . Some people limit their consumption of eggs and other foods that contain dietary cholesterol because they are afraid to raise their blood cholesterol levels. Extensive studies have shown that dietary cholesterol has little effect on blood cholesterol in adults health!
Experts agree that the cholesterol that comes from the food you eat does not increase the risk of Heart diseases

Did you know?

Your body performs a very complicated stabilization process to keep your cholesterol at a healthy rate. If you eat foods rich in cholesterol, your body naturally compensates by reducing the amount of cholesterol produced by the liver.
If your diet does not provide you with a lot of cholesterol, your liver will certainly increase its production to meet the needs of your body.

Cholesterol is it Bad for your health?

-Cholesterol should not be considered as a real health concern if you maintain healthy blood cholesterol levels. However, too much cholesterol in the bloodstream has been linked to serious health problems such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

What are the causes of high cholesterol?

Many factors can affect your blood cholesterol levels. You can change some factors, while others are out of your control. Your family history, your age and even your sex can put you at risk of high cholesterol, and these factors can not be changed. However, your diet and your level of physical activity are factors that can be changed.

Did you know?

Extensive long-term study showed that people who ate five or more eggs per week had a lower risk of heart disease than those who ate less than one egg a week.
Types of blood cholesterol

Types of Cholesterol

There are two main types of cholesterol; these are what they termed as the good and bad cholesterol. Like the literary split personality of Jekyll and Hyde, it has a good side because it is needed for certain important body functions. But for many people, cholesterol also has an evil side. When present in excessive amounts, it can injure blood vessels, cause heart attacks, and stroke.
Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) is the "bad" cholesterol. This is the form in which cholesterol is carried into the blood and is the main cause of harmful fatty buildup in arteries. The higher the LDL cholesterol levels in the blood, the greater the heart disease risk.
On the other hand, High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) is the “good” cholesterol. This "good" cholesterol carries blood cholesterol back to the liver, where it can be eliminated. HDL helps prevent a cholesterol buildup in blood vessels. Low HDL levels increase heart disease risk.
So before you go into your cholesterol deprivation program, remember that cholesterol is essential for human life. It builds and repairs cells, it is used to produce sex hormones like estrogen and testosterone, it is converted to bile acids to help you digest food and it is found in large amounts in brain and nerve tissue.