Cholesterol
What is Cholesterol? Cholesterol is a soft waxy substance found among the lipids (fats) in the blood stream and in all parts of your body cells.
For all the bad press it gets, the fact is that you need cholesterol because several other crucial maintenance operations, but a high level of cholesterol in the blood - "Hypercholesterolemia" - is a major risk factor for Coronary Heart Disease, which leads to Heart Attack.
You get cholesterol in two ways: The body - mainly the liver - produces varying amounts of cholesterol, about 1000mg a day. But, when you consume foods high in saturated fats your body goes cholesterol crazy, pumping out more than you could ever use. Some food also contains cholesterol, especially egg yolks, meat, poultry, fish seafood, and whole milk dairy products. But the majority of it, and the stuff you should focus on, is made by your own body.
Some of the excess cholesterol in your blood stream is removed from the body through the liver, but some of it winds up exactly where you do not want it - along the walls of your arteries, where it combines with the other substances to form plaque. Plaque is bad for several reasons:- It raises blood pressure by making your heart work harder to get blood through your suddenly narrower vessels, which can eventually wear out your ticker; Plaque can break off and tumble through your bloodstream, eventually forming a clot that can lead to a stroke, paralysis, death and other annoyances.
Inside your body, a war is raging right now between two factions of specialised Sherpas called lipoproteins that are moving around your insides according to their own specialised agendas. There are several kinds, but the ones to focus on are HDL (High Density of "Helpful" Lipoprotein) and LDL (Low Density of "Lazy" Lipoprotein)
