Cholesterol - What you Need to Know!

Cholesterol is found among fats in the bloodstream. It is also present in all other cells of the body. Cholesterol is required to a certain extent in a healthy, properly functioning body. It is required for necessary bodily functions such as forming cell membranes and even some hormones. The risk with cholesterol occurs when the amount in the body is too high. The most well known adverse health effect would be coronary heart disease, and potential heart attacks as a result.

Your body naturally produces cholesterol, but you can also get cholesterol from food sources. Examples of such sources are noted below:

Cheese
Butter
Eggs
Fish
Meat
Poultry
Whole Milk

Fruits, vegetables and cereals do not contain any food. Although some food items do not directly contain cholesterol, some may contain trans-fats, which will cause your body to produce cholesterol. If you are looking to avoid higher levels of cholesterol in your body, avoid such foods which contain saturated fats, which will cause your body to produce additional cholesterol, despite not directly obtaining it from food sources. Cholesterol does not dissolve in the blood. Lipoproteins carry cholesterol to and from the cells within the body. There are two types of of these lipoproteins, and you need to be aware of their differences as they each have a seperate effect in the body.

The first type is low-density lipoprotein, the bad cholesterol, which goes by the short form LDL cholesterol. It is not good to have high levels of LDL cholesterol in the body. An abundance of LDL cholesterol can clog arteries, which will thereby increase your risk for astroke or a heart attack. The other type of protein carrier is high-density lipoprotein, also known by the short form HDL cholesterol. This is the good type of cholesterol, which your body will make and serves many valuable purposes in the. This type of cholesterol travels away from your arteries, and high levels of HDL cholesterol have been known to reduce the risk of a heart attack.

Heart diseases is the number one killer of men and women in North America. Many North Americans have levels of LDL cholesterol which are far too high, and this may result in heart disease which can cause heart attacks. However, Cholesterol is not something which you want to completely avoid in your diet, but it is relatively important to avoid LDL cholesterol, while maintaining adequate levels of HDL cholesterol in your body. If you are interested in learning more about cholesterol, please consult your physician.

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