Cholesterol and Heart Disease
Cholesterol is a soft waxy substance found in all of the body cells. It is a necessity since it is used to form the cell membranes, hormones and other important functions of the body. Cholesterol and other fats do not dissolve in the body and thus have to be transported by special carriers called lipoproteins.
There are several types of lipoproteins, but the important ones are Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and High-density lipoproteins (HDL). LDL is the major carrier of cholesterol in the body. It is however, dangerous if present in large amounts because combined with other substances, it can coagulate in the walls of the arteries and form plaque.
The result of such formation is that the arteries start to thicken and less blood is able to flow through them. Such an occurrence is referred to as atherosclerosis. This is directly linked with heart disease since lower levels of blood flow can result in a heart attack.
HDL carries about one third to one fourth of the blood cholesterol and is referred to by medical experts as good cholesterol. The reason is that HDL removes plaque from the arteries and therefore it slows down their formation.
It is therefore necessary to keep a check on the levels of LDL and maintain high levels of HDL in the body to avoid heart disease. There are a number of ways in which this can be achieved. Foods that are rich in trans fats, like meat, egg yolk and dairy products increase the levels of cholesterol in the body. This problem is further accentuated by the production of cholesterol inside the body itself.
The human liver produces about all the cholesterol the body requires so any excess cholesterol intake proves to be an excess. Since foods which are rich in saturated fats lead to an excess in the amount of LDL cholesterol as well, it is necessary to keep a check on them. Physical activity is an effective way of increasing HDL levels.
Medical research recommends about 20-30 minutes of exercise every day so that the breathing and the heart rate may increase. This does not only prevent heart disease, but also abets blood pressure and diabetes. Smoking and high levels of alcohol consumption have also been proven to decrease the levels of HDL cholesterol and indirectly increase the risk of heart disease.
Related Info:
Cholesterol is a waxy steroid metabolite found in the cell membranes and transported in the blood plasma of all animals.[2] It is an essential structural component of mammalian cell membranes, where it is required to establish proper membrane permeability and fluidity. In addition, cholesterol is an important component for the manufacture of bile acids, steroid hormones, and fat-soluble vitamins including Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, and Vitamin K. Cholesterol is the principal sterol synthesized by animals, but small quantities are synthesized in other eukaryotes, such as plants and fungi. It is almost completely absent among prokaryotes, which include bacteria.[3] Although cholesterol is an important and necessary molecule for animals, a high level of serum cholesterol is an indicator for diseases such as heart disease.
The name cholesterol originates from the Greek chole- (bile) and stereos (solid), and the chemical suffix -ol for an alcohol, as François Poulletier de la Salle first identified cholesterol in solid form in gallstones, in 1769. However, it was only in 1815 that chemist Eugène Chevreul named the compound "cholesterine".[4]
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