C holesterol is infamous and pictured as a villain, but we forget how important it is for survival. Our body makes almost 3000 mg of choles terol every day This is nearly 75% of the total cholesterol in our body and only 25% comes as dietary cho lesterol from our food. So, the obvi ous question is that when choles terol is so bad, why does our body make it?
Cholesterol is a raw mate rial to produce all cell membranes, steroid hormones, stress hormones cortisol (the centre of life), sex hormones (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone), vitamin D, bile, and myelin to protect nerves. Further, it helps with nutrition, electrolytes, fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K1/2), immune system, and neutralizing various bacte rial toxins. So, now we know why the body makes so much cholesterol.
It must be transported to various body parts since fats and blood do not mix; therefore, cholesterol needs cargo (lipopro- teins) for distribution. So, assume LDL as the tiny vehicle transporting cholesterol from the liver to the vas cular system (body). Whereas HDL (big vehicles) transport it back to the liver, where it can be dismantled or eliminated from the body Obviously if tiny vehicles are more on the roads (artery), it will be busier and cause plaque formation. This trans portation process is dynamic and
Dietary cholesterol Friend or Foe?
Therefore, any ed LDL-cholesterol levels, leads to restraining the blood vessel (atherosclerosis) and develop ing coronary heart disease (CHD).
High dietary cholesterol is terrible for health. However, recent scien- tific studies do not support that di- etary cholesterol harms healthy individuals because our bodies will balance the excess nutritional cho lesterol intake. So, cholesterol is not a ‘criminal’ here, but it is present at a crime scene.
Let’s then find out
Imbalance, such as elevat- who is the main culprit if it is not dietary cholesterol. There is scien- tific evidence that saturated fatty acids (SFA) and trans fats increase the risks of cardiovascular disease. Moreover, SFAS are considered to increase LDL-cholesterol and the risk of cardiovascular disease. But, arguably the most significant influ ence on blood cholesterol level is the bohydrates, not the amount of cho- profile including ApoB (IDL, LDLsdLDL) is the best causal mark.
A Few Recommendations
- Keep a healthy weight (this will reduce VLDL, thereby LDL)
- Maintain a balanced diet (include unsaturated fats avocado, flax seeds, chia seeds, olive oil. walnuts).
- Consume soluble fibre (psyllium husk, apple, eggplant, barley berries, oats)
- Complementing all this with regular exercise can delay or reverse the atherogenic ApoB level to reduce the chances of coronary heart disease
Er to assess the risk of cardiovascu- lar diseases. However, there may be few patients with predisposed famil- ial hypercholesterolemia and need to be treated differently. In people with Type 2 diabetes, hyperinsuline mia with lower HDL levels and ele after dinner to obtain the optim vated ApoB levels can increase the effect of statins
Diet-dependent mix of fats and car- lesterol eaten. Therefore, a lipid In these cases, cholesterol medi- cation cannot be a default approach; instead, the underlying cause of the high cholesterol level must be un- derstood. Another critical point for the patients receiving cholesterol-
Lowering statins (eg., atorvastati rosuvastatin) is that HMG CoA (ta get of statins drugs) remains high active at midnight and reaches lowest activity at noon. Therefor patients should take statin dru
Chances of heart disease and stroke. Food, in all forms, is a comp combination of multiple nutrie and cholesterol is not outright ha ful. However, the body benefit well-adjusted quantities, and o use of anything is unhealthy
