Understanding Cholesterol
IntoFit | June 2nd, 2009 | General Health Tips | 3 Comments »
I write posts on topics like cholesterol, sodium and blood pressure to understand them better. So much of what we buy is pitched to us as ‘good for you cholesterol” or “low in sodium!”. If you don’t really know why that’s important or how it helps, then really what’s the point!
O.K- Cholesterol. Here is how I see it. Our body actually produces it’s own cholesterol in our liver. We generally make enough to do what needs to be done. Any cholesterol that we get from food is pretty much extra. And I know we all think cholesterol is this horrible word, but we actually need cholesterol for quite a few functions in our body!
- Cholesterol:
* Helps with fat digestion
* Helps form parts of your bodies cells
* Aids in creating certain hormones such as estrogen
* Is an essential part of Vitamin D creation and absorption
So, here is the scoop. Cholesterol and fat can’t be absorbed just by your blood alone. You need something to carry it to the parts of your body that need it. There are two things that carry your cholesterol.
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1. High density Lipoprotein (HDL)
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2. Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL)
Imagine HDL or LDL as the roller-coaster cart and cholesterol as the passenger on the ride. Now we’ve got two different types of rides here, a good one (HDL) and a crappy ride (LDL).
If you eat a lot of cholesterol and saturated and trans fat from animal proteins and processed foods your LDL coaster will leave the station way more often then your HDL coaster. Too many frequent trips on the LDL train and cholesterol passengers will begin to fall off the cart! Because they’ve just fallen off the ride and have no where to go they’ll build up in your blood stream and begin to leave a plague like substance on the walls of your arteries. And there they will live. This is not a good thing.
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A) It narrows the passageway your blood takes to get to and from your heart. Your heart now has to pump more often to get smaller amounts of blood to where you need it, increaing your blood pressure.
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B) Theses little pieces of plaque can break off and clog an artery.
*Both issues can lead to heart disease including heart attacks and strokes.
A smaller amount of your bodies fat and cholesterol will be passengers on the HDL roller-coaster. The HDL coaster can actually carry your cholesterol away from your arteries to your liver where it is then removed from your body. There is also new research that shows that HDL can actually remove extra cholesterol from plague on your arteries walls – reducing your risk of heart disease.
So obviously we want to get more HDL roller-coasters leaving the station and fewer LDL coasters. But how?
Well here are a few ways we can do it!
1. When you exercise you are building your heart muscle and making it stronger. You are essentially teaching it to carry more blood to your organs and tissues with fewer pumps, lowering blood pressure.
2. Some medical experts believe exercise increases your HDL number.
3. Making healthy food choices can lower your cholesterol intake, lowering the amount of LDL in your body. Food from plants such as fruits, vegetables, grains and seeds do not carry cholesterol.
4. Foods that contain soluble fiber such as oats, vegetables and citrus fruits can actually help your body to eliminate dietary cholesterol.
- On a cholesterol reading, LDL is the top number ( normally bigger) and HDL is the bottom number.
- Having a number higher than 160LDL will increase your risk of heart disease.
- Having a number less than 40HDL for men and 50HDL for women can increase your risk of stroke and other heart disease.
The American Heart Association recommends a diet with less than 300 mg of cholesterol a day.
- 11225 Steps.
*Referenced by the American Heart Association
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