If you are wondering why you have high cholesterol and what is cholesterol anyway. We have here tried to explain it to you in lay-mans terms. This is not easily done, but might give you an indication of how and why these cholesterol levels should be lowered. Similar to not needing to know how the internal combustion engine works, in order to drive a car, you really don't need to understand what cholesterol actually is. But we believe it might enlighten you to some degree, and at least if someone asks you "what is cholesterol?" You will have the answer ready for them!
So what is cholesterol? Cholesterol is quite simply a class of aerobic chemical compounds that are mostly hydrophobic in nature. So what the heck does that mean? Well, if you never took organic chemistry or biochemistry in college, or never went to college, it doesn't mean a whole lot. Even if you took those classes, it still doesn't tell you very much.
Perhaps a better way to answer the question is to look at what cholesterol does to the body. Cholesterol does serve a purpose in the body, it is not all bad in nature. Cholesterol provides the membranes of cells with a flexible, fluid quality in animals. Unlike the cells of plants which are inflexible, animal cells have to bend and flex without breaking. Cells in animals (of which we humans are), have membranes that consist of a double layer of lipids. Each lipid cell layer has a hydrophilic head and tail. The hydrophilic head aligns with the watery interior and exterior of the cell, and the tail aligns in the centre of the cell which is relatively free of water. Cholesterol likes to be in the centre of the double layer of lipids in the cell membrane, and its molecules are small enough to flow freely here. This flow of cholesterol molecules is what allows the cell membrane to remain elastic and flexible.
The conclusion we get from this is that cholesterol is vital to life. Now this is where the good and the bad comes in. Cholesterol cannot make its own way around the body, it has to be carried by lipoprotein carriers, there are many of these but the most significant are HDL and LDL. It is LDL levels that tell us when we have too much bad cholesterol on the body and we need to lower these levels before they become dangerous. LDL is the artery clogging cholesterol.
So, what is cholesterol? In broader terms it is something we cannot live without but in terms of LDL, it could be something that could kill us. Essentially cholesterol is a building block of the body, it is produced naturally in the liver and we do not need to eat or take any kind of supplements to ensure its production. You liver will produce all the cholesterol you will ever need. Therefore there is nothing you need to eat to produce it. Cut out all LDL cholesterol producing foods and your body will continue to run just fine without them. - 15266
So what is cholesterol? Cholesterol is quite simply a class of aerobic chemical compounds that are mostly hydrophobic in nature. So what the heck does that mean? Well, if you never took organic chemistry or biochemistry in college, or never went to college, it doesn't mean a whole lot. Even if you took those classes, it still doesn't tell you very much.
Perhaps a better way to answer the question is to look at what cholesterol does to the body. Cholesterol does serve a purpose in the body, it is not all bad in nature. Cholesterol provides the membranes of cells with a flexible, fluid quality in animals. Unlike the cells of plants which are inflexible, animal cells have to bend and flex without breaking. Cells in animals (of which we humans are), have membranes that consist of a double layer of lipids. Each lipid cell layer has a hydrophilic head and tail. The hydrophilic head aligns with the watery interior and exterior of the cell, and the tail aligns in the centre of the cell which is relatively free of water. Cholesterol likes to be in the centre of the double layer of lipids in the cell membrane, and its molecules are small enough to flow freely here. This flow of cholesterol molecules is what allows the cell membrane to remain elastic and flexible.
The conclusion we get from this is that cholesterol is vital to life. Now this is where the good and the bad comes in. Cholesterol cannot make its own way around the body, it has to be carried by lipoprotein carriers, there are many of these but the most significant are HDL and LDL. It is LDL levels that tell us when we have too much bad cholesterol on the body and we need to lower these levels before they become dangerous. LDL is the artery clogging cholesterol.
So, what is cholesterol? In broader terms it is something we cannot live without but in terms of LDL, it could be something that could kill us. Essentially cholesterol is a building block of the body, it is produced naturally in the liver and we do not need to eat or take any kind of supplements to ensure its production. You liver will produce all the cholesterol you will ever need. Therefore there is nothing you need to eat to produce it. Cut out all LDL cholesterol producing foods and your body will continue to run just fine without them. - 15266
About the Author:
Dane Masters is an accomplished niche website developer and author. To learn more about Avoiding Heart Bypass Surgery, please visit Drink for Healthy Joints for current articles and discussions.
