You might have an idea about the blood cholesterol but I want to make you aware about the good and bad cholesterols and the good and bad effects associated with them.
Generally, large amount of cholesterol is produced in the liver and small amount is produced from the intake of foods like saturated fats.
Meat, fish, dairy products, liver and many animal products are rich in saturated fats.
But if you are taking plant food sources, then you may have normal amount of cholesterol in your body.
Cholesterol is a fat - like substance which is essential for maintaining body functions as it helps in formation of cells, vitamin D, hormones, and substances which helps in proper digestion of food.
Thus, it is carried in blood by lipoproteins.
There are five types of cholesterol present in your body.
• High density lipoprotein (HDL) is good cholesterol and helps in carrying excessive cholesterol from your tissues to deposit it on liver and expelling it thus preventing heart diseases.
• Low density lipoprotein (LDL) is bad cholesterol for you as it helps in building cholesterol in your blood vessels.
Their function includes transportation of cholesterol from liver to different tissues of your body.
• Very low density lipoproteins are present in small amounts in your body.
• Triglycerides are formed by the fats from the food you eat.
These are the stored form of energy in your body.
If it is high with LDL it can impose risk of heart disease.
• Total Cholesterol can cause various health problems if not looked at.
If you are having high blood cholesterol that is high LDL, VLDL and IDL, then you may suffer from heart diseases as it affects your blood vessels by forming fatty deposits inside them causing them to get narrow and prevent adequate supply of oxygen to your heart.
The fatty deposits can sometimes prevent proper blood flow to your heart and brain by detaching from blood vessels and in turn, blocking them.
And you can have angina pectoris and strokes in medical terms.
You can also develop xanthomas which are yellow patches around your eyes due to high cholesterol level.
You might have notion that only too high cholesterol level can harm you.
But you are wrong.
Too little of blood cholesterol can also be alarming condition for you as cholesterol plays important part in formation and maintenance of cells of the body.
You might suffer from attacks of depression and anxiety resulting in impulsiveness and aggression and sometimes hemorrhagic strokes which might prove fatal.
Some studies shows that low cholesterol level during pregnancy can result in premature birth, birth defects and low birth weight of baby.
You can have very low levels of blood cholesterol due to some genetic disorders, overactive thyroid gland and medicines taken to reduce high level of cholesterol.