Cholesterol

Welcome to eCholesterol.net, the website which provides all the related information about cholesterol. We have tried to collect all the related information about cholesterol and the natural treatment with its help.

What is Cholesterol?

As time goes on, we are progressively becoming a health conscience society more and more. As a society, we are looking at more health related controversies by directing our full attention to them. One of these health controversies I would like to point out is the subject on cholesterol. You see, read, and hear the word every day in our daily lives. Whether if it’s on a television commercial, a magazine, a novel, or even on the back of a cereal box, people are becoming more aware of cholesterol. As the awareness grows and spreads, you should be more aware as well on the subject if you don’t already know the basics of cholesterol. So what exactly is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is located within the blood of a human body. It is produced from two major sources, the liver and the foods that you consume on a daily basis. Cholesterol that is produced from the liver provides no threat at all since it is produced naturally within the human body. So with that said, you generally don’t have to worry about cholesterol from liver production. Although, the other source production of cholesterol that you do need to worry about is cholesterol that comes from dietary consumption or in other words, the foods you eat. Dietary consumption of cholesterol mainly comes from the following foods: Fish, poultry, meat, and last but not least, dairy products.

The liver’s job is to process bodily chemicals. One of it’s main jobs is to process cholesterol. As mentioned above, the liver acts as a manufacturing site for cholesterol. After producing the required amount of cholesterol, the liver excretes the cholesterol back into the blood stream. Production and excretion of cholesterol into the blood stream usually occurs in between meals, by hours apart usually. Another function the liver provides is that it also removes cholesterol from the blood stream and processes it once more to remove chylomicrons.

HDL and LDL Cholesterol:

So let’s go in more depth on the two main kinds of cholesterol. As shown above, they are HDL and LDL cholesterol. If you have an imaginative mind, you can think of HDL cholesterol as the security guard within the blood stream. This is known as the good kind of cholesterol. It’s job is to scrap and remove plaque build-ups within the blood stream and dispose of them through the liver. HDL cholesterol also prevents a condition called atherosclerosis. If you don’t already know, atherosclerosis occurs when the build up of plaque gets thicker and thicker within the blood stream. Having low levels of LDL and high levels of HDL is more desirable to ensure one’s health. On the other hand, having high levels of LDL and low levels of HDL is least desirable because you are more at risk for stroke, atherosclerosis, and even heart attack.

So now that I have explained the function of HDL cholesterol, you can probably already conclude that LDL cholesterol is the villain of this case. And that is generally correct, LDL cholesterol is known as the bad kind of cholesterol. LDL stands for low-density lipoprotein. It’s characteristics is known as its act of depositing itself onto artery walls which build up plaque in the blood stream. It is known as the bad kind of cholesterol because the higher levels of LDL cholesterol that your blood contains the more you are at risk for coronary heart disease and among other health risk conditions as mentioned earlier.

Another term that you need to be acquainted with is total cholesterol. Total cholesterol is the sum of all four kinds of cholesterol. Since I’ve already talked about HDL (High-density lipoprotein) and LDL (Low-density lipoprotein), the other two that you need to be aware of are IDL (intermediate density lipoprotein) and VLDL (very low density lipoprotein). Although, you need to be more aware of HDL and LDL cholesterol. For more detailed information on cholesterol and how you can maintain healthy cholesterol levels, be sure to read many of the related articles provided on this site.

Disclaimer: This website provides general information about cholesterol and in no means should be taken as a medical or health advice. Please consult your doctor before acting on any of its information.