Cholesterol is a waxy steroid needed to build and maintain membranes of all human and animal life. Because it is an essential requirement for all human life the body synthesizes it from more simple substances. Someone with a body weight of about 150 pounds will synthesize about one gram of cholesterol daily with about 35 grams total in the body. However, typical diets in the U.S. and other countries contain roughly 2-3 grams per day and our bodies compensate for this intake by reducing the amount it synthesizes.
Our bodies are models of efficiency and do a vert good job of recycling cholesterol. It leaves the liver via the bile into our digestive tract and about 50% is captured by the small bowel to put back into the bloodstream. The bloodstream itself distributes the cholesterol throughout our bodies and that is a difficult job.
By itself, cholesterol is only slightly soluble in water so it does not do a very good job of dissolving in the water based bloodstream and traveling the circulatory system. To get around this problem, our bodies surround the cholesterol with lipoproteins with outward facing surfaces that are water soluble and inward facing surfaces are lipid soluble. The result is that the cholesterol is now able to be transported efficiently throughout the body.
Besides acting as taxi cabs to transport the cholesterol, lipoproteins also have signals that target the lipids they carry to certain tissues. Because of this targeting system, there are several types of lipoproteins within blood called, from least dense to most, chylomicrons, very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), intermediate-density lipoprotein (IDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). So when we talk about our "bad" LDL cholesterol or "good" HDL cholesterol we are really talking about the amount of cholesterol carried by the lipoproteins. Basically, the more cholesterol and less protein a lipoprotein has the less dense it is. It is important to know that the cholesterol within all the various lipoproteins is identical, so it is the amount that matters.
So, if all cholesterol is the same, why is LDL "bad" and HDL "good"?
Like the rest of its lipoprotein brothers, LDL enables fats and cholesterol to move within the water-based solution of the blood stream. Additionally LDL also regulates cholesterol synthesis at these sites. LDL got its bad name when medical science discovered that elevated levels of LDL often signals problems like cardiovascular disease.
HDL, on the other hand, is believed to remove cholesterol from within arteries and carry it back to the liver to either be excreted or re-used. This is the primary reason why we refer to HDL is "good cholesterol". High levels of HDL seem to indicate less risk for cardiovascular disease. In healthy people, about 30% of total blood cholesterol is carried by HDL.
Today medical professionals recommend that persons with high levels of "bad" LDL should take steps to quickly reduce them. The use of statin drugs, prescribed by professionals, are very effective against high levels of LDL cholesterol. Statins work by inhibiting an enzyme in the liver that controls the rate-limiting step of cholesterol synthesis. When the body senses this reduced synthesis, it compensates for the decreased cholesterol availability, by increasing the synthesis of LDL receptors which will increase the clearance of LDL from the bloodstream.
LDL can also be reduced through diet and certain dietary supplements.
One of the best supplements tested to reduce LDL levels is the raw whole food Mila. Mila is a highly concentrated form of the plant Salvia hispanica L. It was tested by a noted University Health Science Center in a open label, parallel assessment, randomized study. The results of this study confirmed that Mila matched a leading statin drug both in lowering LDL cholesterol levels and systolic blood pressure. In addition, Mila has excellent vitamin and mineral properties including antioxidants and Omega-3 fatty acids, all of which are important to overall human health.
For more complete details on all the properties of Mila, please visit milahealthyliving.com Mila Healthy Living.Com.
Research on how to reduce cholesterol has progressed greatly. It is now recognized that diet can play as important part as statin drugs in reducing cholesterol levels.
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