"We live in a cholesterol obsessed world. Every day, we are bombarded with television and magazine advertisements that tell us we must lower our cholesterol (and why their company’s drug can do it best). And every couple of years, a new announcement from the medical community tells us that we need to lower our national cholesterol targets--conveniently mandating that doctors encourage another 20 million or so more patients to get on a regimen of statin drugs for the rest of their lives. So, what’s it all about? What is cholesterol, and should we really be so afraid of it?
Cholesterol is not a fat but rather a soft, waxy, “fat-like” substance that circulates in the bloodstream. It is not a villain. It is vital to life and is found in all cell membranes. It is necessary for the production of bile acids, steroid hormones, and vitamin D. Cholesterol is manufactured by the liver, but it is also present in all animal foods--abundant in organ meats, shellfish, and egg yolks, and contained in smaller amounts in all meats and poultry. Vegetable oils and shortenings contain no cholesterol.
Cholesterol cannot dissolve in the blood, so your liver combines it with special proteins called lipoproteins to “liquefy” it. The lipoproteins used by the liver are either very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDLs) or high-density lipoproteins (HDLs), which correspondingly produce LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol. HDL is called the “good” cholesterol because HDL particles prevent atherosclerosis by extracting cholesterol buildup from arterial walls and disposing of it through the liver. LDL cholesterol is called “bad” cholesterol, because elevated LDL is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease. Thus, high levels of LDL and low levels of HDL (high LDL/HDL ratios) are considered by most doctors to be a risk factor for atherosclerosis, while low levels of LDL and high levels of HDL (low LDL/HDL ratios) are considered desirable."
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Cholesterol is not a fat but rather a soft, waxy, “fat-like” substance that circulates in the bloodstream. It is not a villain. It is vital to life and is found in all cell membranes. It is necessary for the production of bile acids, steroid hormones, and vitamin D. Cholesterol is manufactured by the liver, but it is also present in all animal foods--abundant in organ meats, shellfish, and egg yolks, and contained in smaller amounts in all meats and poultry. Vegetable oils and shortenings contain no cholesterol.
Cholesterol cannot dissolve in the blood, so your liver combines it with special proteins called lipoproteins to “liquefy” it. The lipoproteins used by the liver are either very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDLs) or high-density lipoproteins (HDLs), which correspondingly produce LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol. HDL is called the “good” cholesterol because HDL particles prevent atherosclerosis by extracting cholesterol buildup from arterial walls and disposing of it through the liver. LDL cholesterol is called “bad” cholesterol, because elevated LDL is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease. Thus, high levels of LDL and low levels of HDL (high LDL/HDL ratios) are considered by most doctors to be a risk factor for atherosclerosis, while low levels of LDL and high levels of HDL (low LDL/HDL ratios) are considered desirable."
Like & Share (G.Shyam)
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thanks for feedback, hope from U to share this!