Getting The Facts About CholesterolKnowing the facts about good and bad cholesterol can help reduce your risk for a heart attack or stroke. Understanding what cholesterol is, and how it affects your health is only the beginning, you also need to manage your cholesterol. Managing your cholesterol will include many things like scheduling a screening with your physician, following any advice from your doctor, eating foods low in cholesterol and saturated fat, eating foods free of trans fat, maintaining a healthy weight, and being physically active. Cholesterol is one of the many substances that is created by our own bodies, and it is used to keep us healthy. Cholesterol is a soft, fatty, waxy substance that is found in your bloodstream, and in all of your body’s cells. It is an important part of a healthy body because it is used for producing cell membranes and some hormones. Cholesterol does not dissolve in the blood, it has to be moved to and from the cells by low density lipoproteins (LDL), and high density lipoproteins (HDL). Cholesterol enters our body in two ways, some of it we produce, and some of it enters our bodies through the food we eat. Cholesterol itself is not bad. There are two types of cholesterol, good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. It is very important that you understand the differences between the two, and to understand and know the levels of cholesterol in your own blood. Too much bad cholesterol (LDL), and not enough of the good cholesterol (HDL), can put you at a higher risk for heart attack, heart disease, or strokes. Both of these types of lipids are very important in your body functions, and together they make up your total cholesterol count. Good cholesterol or high-density lipoprotein, helps protect us against heart attacks. And on the flip side, low levels of HDL (usually less that 40 mg/dl) increases your risk of heart disease. It is very important that there is a balance of cholesterol in your body. Many research experts are of the opinion that HDL carries cholesterol away from the arteries and back to the liver, where it them passes from the body. They also are of the opinion that HDL removes excess cholesterol from arterial plaque, therefore slowing its buildup in your arteries. Low density lipoproteins (LDL) also known as bad cholesterol will build up in the inner walls of the arteries that feed the heart and the brain. When combined with other substances it will form plaque, a hard, thick deposit that will narrow the arteries and make them less flexible and less able to carry blood. This condition is called atherosclerosis. If a clot forms under this condition and blocks an artery, the result may be a heart attack or a stroke. Your totally cholesterol count can be determined by a simple blood test. It is important that you check with your physician to see if you need to have your blood tested.
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