What Is Cholesterol?
What is Cholesterol? Cholesterol is a type of fat found in the body. It is a lipid meaning a type of fat. Our bodies need some cholesterol in order to stay healthy. Cholesterol is used by the body to build cell walls and other hormones. Excess cholesterol may be bad for your health. There are special proteins called lipoproteins that help carry cholesterol to all parts of the body because cholesterol cannot move by it self. There are 2 types of lipoproteins that are checked with your cholesterol. The reason is that one type of lipoprotein causes too much cholesterol to stay in your body while the other type helps your body get rid of the extra cholesterol. Low density lipoprotein or LDL cholesterol: This lipoprotein is called “bad cholesterol” because it causes fatty deposits in the arteries.High density lipoprotein or HDL cholesterol: This type is called
"Good Cholesterol" because it takes cholesterol to the liver, so that
it can leave the body as a waste product.Cholesterol is made by the liver and our bodies also get it from animal foods we eat. These foods include meat, eggs, and whole-fat dairy products.
Health risks of high cholesterol
Too much cholesterol in your body can cause fatty deposits in the walls of your arteries which causes hardening of the arteries. Hardening of the arteries is called atherosclerosis. This condition causes poor blood flow in certain areas of your body putting you at a higher risk for health problems. These blood flow problems may lead to a heart attack or a stroke. Untreated problems caused by atherosclerosis may be serious. They can even be life threatening. What is cholesterol? It is not enough to just knowing what it is but educating ourselves further will help us understand why it is so important to keep it controlled. Other topics have been added below to gain a little more knowledge on this subject.
- Triglycerides play a great roll in our bodies just like cholesterol but if the levels are elevated, it can lead to heart disease, diabetes and other serious conditions.
- Lowering cholesterol is essential especially if your cholesterol is very high. It will prevent future conditions such as heart attacks and strokes. Prevention of these conditions should be the focus.
- Cholesterol lowering foods can help you lower your cholesterol effectively. There is a lot of research out there and results have been approved by the FDA. Get started eating those healthy foods today.
- Lowering cholesterol naturally is an alternative to taking lowering cholesterol drugs (statins). Statins can cause lots of side effects and can be bad on your liver. There are a lot natural products out there that can help you lower your cholesterol naturally but, it is recommended you do a good research on those products that interest you in order to prevent complication and/or interactions with other medications you might be taking..
- Cholesterol Levels - It is important to know what your cholesterol levels are. This will put you on alert if you are at high risk of heart attack or stroke. If your levels are elevated, you need to device a plan to lower those numbers.
- A low cholesterol diet is important to help lower your cholesterol. There is a wide variety of foods out there that are low in cholesterol making it easier to develop a wide range of recipes.
- Low cholesterol recipes
Please keep checking this what is cholesterol page for more new information.
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Cholesterol - Cholesterol and its effects are fully explained. Everything from using statin drugs to alternative herbal remedies to special diets and meal planners. If you have high cholesterol, we have the answer.
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