Contrasting LDL and HDL Cholesterol

Heart disease is the biggest killer in the United States these days. There are many things that go into this general cardiac category including exercise, diet and lifestyle issues such as smoking. Cholesterol is one topic that is always front and center in this discussion.

What is cholesterol? It is a soft, waxy substance that is found in the blood stream. It is often touted as being universally bad, but it is not. It is needed by the body for basic molecular functions and is actually produced by the liver. In fact, the liver can often produce too much of it when someone is going through massive weight loss. This can lead to a chronic problem in the gallbladder which stores the bile/cholesterol produced by the liver. Many people that have gastric bypass surgery also have to have their gallbladders removed for this very reason.

It was long thought that there was only one type of cholesterol. In truth, there are two. They are found in low density lipoproteins ["LDL"] and high density lipoproteins ["HDL"]. Importantly, neither of these items is cholesterol itself. They simply carry it around the bloodstream. Let's look at each.

Why is LDL cholesterol bad? The problem seems to be that these lipoproteins do not hold onto the cholesterol as they move through the bloodstream. Instead, the cholesterol tends to stick to things it passes, particularly the walls of the arteries. Slowly, but surely, this leads to blockages of the arteries and heart disease in the form of strokes, heart attacks and a host of other problems.

HDL seems to have the opposite impact. It appears to hold securely onto the cholesterol it is transporting. This eventually brings the substance back to the liver where it can be safely processed and stored. Even better, there is some evidence that these proteins will even pick up cholesterol from clogged artery walls and transport it to the liver. If that isn't good, nothing is!

When it comes to cholesterol, there is a clear black and white distinction between good and bad. To avoid heart disease, try to minimize your LDL and maximize your HDL within healthy limits.

Thomas Ajava writes about which foods howlowercholesterol.com/cholesterol/which-foods-contain-high-cholesterol contain high cholesterol and other issues related to cholesterol and heart disease for howlowercholesterol.com HowLowerCholesterol.com.