subject: Understanding Your Cholesterol Level Is Essential To Your Cardiovascular Wellness [print this page] A recently available '07 document from the Women's Health Study showed that high levels of cholesterol, even in healthy women, was a risk factor that increased a woman's chances of developing a stroke. Alternative studies have shown a connection between high levels of cholesterol and Alzheimer's sickness. Additionally, the press has been cautioning us for years to cut down our intake of cholesterol because high cholesterol leads to hardening of the blood vessels. Yet what is cholesterol and why is it even it our bodies?
Cholesterol is a natural product in all of us that is produced by the body. It is a soft, waxy, fat-like compound that is in each of your cells and can be found in all parts of the body - such as the skin, blood vessels, muscles, etcetera. Because the body actively creates cholesterol, we can assume that having cholesterol in your body is not automatically bad. As a matter of fact, even if you wanted to, you could not get rid of all the cholesterol from your body.
The following is the key reason why Cholesterol is vital for the body. Your body's cells use cholesterol as aa essential building block in creating their protective membrane. Studies have suggested that "good" HDL cholesterol helps to protect against coronary disease and stroke even when "bad" LDL cholesterol levels are elevated. Furthermore, good cholesterol helps in the prevention of unsafe breakaway blood clots - which can be the result of sitting in a cramped position for too long. Cholesterol likewise helps the body to manufacture vitamin D from the sun. Quite simply, there is a lot of good that cholesterol performs.
The other source of cholesterol which we are all used to hearing about is dietary cholesterol. The source of dietary cholesterol is the food that we eat. Specifically the animal food items that we eat. Eating cholesterol raises the bad cholesterol level in your body. Over the years there have been quite a few studies that correlate a high intake of dietary cholesterol to coronary heart disease. This simply means that the more high cholesterol foods that we consume, the greater our chance of having a stroke or developing heart disease.
High density lipoprotein (HDL), the good cholesterol, is a type of cholesterol that circulates in the bloodstream. Among its tasks is to eliminate excess cholesterol from the body's tissues and transport it to the liver where it will be excreted from the body. This action of "taking out the garbage" or purifying the bloodstream is why HDL is a called good cholesterol and also why it's good for your body to have a comparatively high HDL level. Some investigators claim that an HDL of 60 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) or better is good and will protect you against hardening of the arteries and minimize your risk of getting heart disease.
Conversely, a reduced level of HDL, such as less then 40 mg/dl, has a negative effect on the body. Many studies seem to highlight that a low level of HDL combined with a high level of LDL is a forerunner of heart disease
You are able to manage your cholesterol. The total amount of cholesterol in your body at any point in time is a function of how fast your HDL and liver can cleanse your system of it's existing cholesterol together with the amount of dietary cholesterol that you've eaten during recent hours.
Managing the level of cholesterol that you let into your body is a huge part of your lifestyle that you can modify to lower your chances of heart disease or stroke. According to the American Heart Association, if you eat less then 300 mg of cholesterol a day, you can significantly reduce your cholesterol levels. By paying greater attention to the foods you eat, you can help to assure yourself of a lengthy and healthy life.
