Cholesterol and our Body

Cholesterol is not the one that imposes threat for our health. It is bad cholesterol we should avoid. They are usually common among adults because they are related to ailments like diabetes, heart failure, and hypertension. And these ailments are quiet common with adults rather than our younger generation. So if we're talking about lowering cholesterol, it means stopping the growth of bad cholesterol in our body.

Two kinds of cholesterol are present in our body. One of this is bad cholesterol. This type of cholesterol is a low-density lipoprotein and is harmful because it can cause atheroma. A condition where our arteries clog, atheroma can cause fat streaks in our arteries or plaque them. If we don't pay attention to them, our body accumulates lots of macrophage white blood cells. This could happen to a child even before turning the age of 10. Actually, the early signs of this could start at the age before 5 years. And while we grow up, this could slowly collect in our veins. Mostly, the real symptoms appear after a more dangerous ailment like heart attack or stroke. And in this case, it is already too late for the patient to recover. The effects of this may not cause fatality to patients but it can cause long term disability.

It is surprising to know when you go to a lab test, and find out your cholesterol level. Your cholesterol level will not reflect in what you see in your body. You may look healthy and yet have a very high cholesterol level in your body. This build-up of cholesterol in our body is caused by small intakes of cholesterol everyday that compiled for years as we grow up.

It's not really puzzling on how bad cholesterol builds up in our body. It's in the food we eat everyday that contains high levels of fats. If you're fond of eating foods packed in canned goods, better check for the labels if it contains high levels of cholesterol through the fat value it has. This is not just the point to ponder when you want to be cautious of cholesterol in your body.

Cholesterol is not created right away from the diet we eat. It undergoes through a process and metabolizes first in our body. It is not mainly composed of only our diet alone. There are other contributing factors that make it as a whole cholesterol. But you must take into account that there is also good cholesterol present in this universe which helps in the body's function like producing bile and regulation of vitamins that are fat soluble, like Vitamin K, D, E, and A.

Cholesterol has also an effect on the production of body hormones in our body. After it is consumed in our body, it produces excess lipids in our liver and gall bladder in the form of crystal particles. The reason it becomes a bad cholesterol, is it is not water soluble, meaning it just circulates over and over in our body and converts to bad cholesterol (low density lipoproteins). For people with healthy metabolism, bad cholesterol is less likely to happen because the fats don't accumulate well in the body. Bad cholesterol is the ones that comes in small sizes and get trapped in our veins and clogs. The good ones are those that come in large quantities.

Lowering cholesterol means avoiding those that are composed of animal meats and fats, specifically pork and beef. It is not in the genes or a hereditary factor. It maybe easy to put this in mind but it takes discipline to avoid these foods when being served.

Andy Rhodes is the author of The-Lower-Cholesterol-101.com, a site where you can learn what experts say on how you can lower your cholesterol by selecting cholesterol-free foods. Find how to lower your cholesterol through your diet. Andy's contact information can be found at andy@lower-cholesterol-101.com