Cholesterol is a white, waxy substance that is found in some of the foods we eat; it is also manufactured by all the cells of our body, but most notably by the liver cells. Some cholesterol is critcial to good health.
Not only is cholesterol an important component of cell walls, it is also essential for the body’s production of certain hormones. For most people, between 70 and 75 percent of the cholesterol in our blood is produced by their liver; the other 25 to 30 percent comes from the food they eat. Your foods cholesterol, therefore, is something that you can change by your own efforts.
Your body needs fat and cholesterol to maintain good health. During infancy and childhood, fat is essential for normal brain development. Throughout your life, it is essential to provide energy and support growth. Cholesterol is used to build the walls of cells throughout the body and to manufacture key essential substances such as hormones and vitamin D. That makes it important to have at least some fat and cholesterol available in your body at all times.
If cholesterol is needed for healthy bodily function, why is cholesterol bad for you? It’s simple.The answer to these questions is simple. A certain amount of cholesterol is important for the body. But when blood cholesterol levels exceed 200mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter), you become at risk of developing heart disease. That’s why so many people are looking for a high cholesterol cure.
Elevated total blood cholesterol is clearly a changeable heart disease risk factor. Many times heart attacks, bypass surgeries, angioplasties, and sudden cardiac deaths occur in people with total cholesterol levels above 200mg/dL. Cholesterol medication is used to help control those levels.
But a better way to estimate your risk of heart disease is to actually know your ratio of total cholesterol to good cholesterol. It’s not just the total cholestrol level that tells you what your risk is: you really need to know what your ratio is.
Always seek your doctor’s advice for all health related issues. The information in this post is for information purposes only and is not intended to diagnose any ailment or suggest any treatment.
