What is meant by cholesterol


Taken from Medicinet, Cholesterol is a chemical compound that is naturally produced by the body and is a combination of lipids (fats) and steroids. Cholesterol is a building block for cell membranes and hormones such as estrogen and testosterone.
About 80% of the body cholesterol is produced by the liver, while the rest comes from our diet. Dietary cholesterol comes mainly from meat, poultry, fish, and dairy products. Organ meats, like liver, very high levels of cholesterol, while foods of plant origin contain no cholesterol. After eating, food cholesterol absorbed from the intestine and stored in the liver.
Exercise can regulate cholesterol levels in the bloodstream and can remove cholesterol if needed by the body. 

LDL and HDL cholesterol ? 

LDL cholesterol is called "bad" cholesterol, because elevated levels of LDL cholesterol associated with an increased risk of disease coronaryheart. Lipoprotein LDL cholesterol on artery walls, causing the formation of a substance, a thick hard-called cholesterol plaque. Over time, cholesterol plaque causes thickening of arterial walls and narrowing of blood vessels, a process called atherosclerosis.
HDL cholesterol is called "good cholesterol" because HDL cholesterol particles prevent atherosclerosis by extracting cholesterol from artery walls and disposing of them through the liver. Thus, high levels of LDL cholesterol and low levels of HDL cholesterol (high LDL / HDL ratios) are risk factors for atherosclerosis, while low levels of LDL cholesterol and high levels of HDL cholesterol (low LDL / HDL ratio) is desired.
total cholesterol is the amount of LDL (low density) cholesterol, HDL (high density) cholesterol, VLDL (very low density) cholesterol, and IDL (intermediate density) cholesterol.


What determines the level of LDL cholesterol in the blood? 


Liver produce and secrete into the blood LDL cholesterol. It also removes LDL cholesterol from the blood by LDL receptors on the cell surface. A number of LDL receptors of liver cells associated with high blood LDL cholesterol levels.
Both heredity and diet have a significant influence, one's LDL and total cholesterol HDL. For example, familial hypercholesterolemia (hyper = more + cholesterol + emia = in the blood) is a common inherited disorder that victims have a number of LDL receptors is reduced or even not present on the surface of liver cells. People with this disorder also tend to develop atherosclerosis and heart attacks in early adulthood.
Diets high in saturated fat and cholesterol increase LDL cholesterol levels in the blood. Fats are classified as saturated or unsaturated (according to their chemical structure). Saturated fats are mainly derived from meat and dairy products and can increase blood cholesterol levels. Some vegetable oils made from coconut, palm oil, and cocoa are also high in saturated fat.


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