Why You Need Good Cholesterol
As most of us know, there are good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. As we hear about the dangers of high cholesterol everyday, we should also find out about ways to lower our cholesterol. This includes ways to avoid cholesterol in our diet. You must have known that cholesterol is not always a bad thing. Why does our body keep cholesterol in it? The answer is that our body needs good cholesterol to build and maintain cell membranes. Our membranes need good cholesterol to produce hormones, vitamin D and bile acids. Bile acids help us to digest fat. Most good cholesterol is made by our body itself. Our body only needs good cholesterol to be able to function well. When our cholesterol level is high, that means we have too much bad cholesterol. High Density Lipoprotein Is Good Cholesterol Cholesterol is produced in the liver. Foods from animals will also contain cholesterol because animals have livers too. Even some vegetables contain cholesterol and saturated fat. Cholesterol is a fat-like substance which bonds to a protein and travels through the bloodstream. Lipoprotein results when cholesterol bonds to a protein. The cholesterol test we take to measure cholesterol level actually measures lipoproteins. Lipoprotein is sorted by its density. It measures the fat versus protein in the combination. High density lipoprotein means there is more protein compared to fat. High density lipoproteins or HDL are known as the good cholesterol. They do the necessary work of cholesterol and they do not clog up our arteries. Instead, they help flush excess fat from our bodies. Bad cholesterol is made up of low density lipoproteins (LDL), very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) and triglycerides (a type of fat carried by LDL and VLDL). Triglycerides cause plaque buildup on the artery walls and can cause heart disease. The levels of bad cholesterol and good cholesterol vary from person to person depending on factors that affect the cholesterol levels. This includes being overweight, or a diet that consists of too much saturated fat and cholesterol. This can also be the result of not enough exercise, heredity and some medical conditions or even medicines. Cholesterol can increase with age, too. If our bad cholesterol level is high while our good cholesterol is low, our doctor can help us find out the causes. Generally, we can easily increase good cholesterol and decrease bad cholesterol by modifying our diet, losing weight or exercising regularly. By following a healthy lifestyle, we can increase our good cholesterol level. We can also ask for a doctor's help to make a plan for us to help increase our good cholesterol level. Focus on having enough good cholesterol, try to lessen bad cholesterol and our body will take care of itself.
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