![]() ![]() ![]() Your HDL cholesterol transports cholesterol particles from bodily tissue to the liver, where it can be reused or removed. What is HDL cholesterol? HDL stands for “high-density lipoprotein,” meaning HDL particles are larger than LDL particles. Many people think of LDL as “bad” cholesterol, but that’s not really a fair assessment - it’s all cholesterol, and these proteins “shuttle” fats to and from cells. On a basic level, your body has two types of cholesterol circulating: LDL and HDL cholesterol. The more research is done, the more doctors are realizing that, even within the two common distinctions of cholesterol, there are many variations. Why is high cholesterol something that causes so much concern? HDL Cholesterol vs. However, I’ve already pointed out that cholesterol is an important factor in many vital bodily functions. Your serum cholesterol numbers matter because high cholesterol levels build up in your arteries, forming plaques that lead to arteriosclerosis, a form of the heart disease. Eating eggs long-term, for example, doesn’t actually increase your heart disease markers, including serum cholesterol. However, it seems that dietary cholesterol actually isn’t as detrimental to your health as it seemed at first. ( 3 )įor a while, it was widely believed that eggs were bad for your heart because they contain so much cholesterol (24.6 percent of eggs are cholesterol, to be exact) and would increase your serum cholesterol (the amount of this substance in your blood). ![]() that are highest in dietary cholesterol include eggs, chicken, beef, hamburgers and cheese. High cholesterol foods include a gamut of very healthy to incredibly unhealthy choices, from eggs and dark chocolate to potato chips and cookies. Your brain also needs cholesterol, as it helps to create neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine. It’s a precursor substance necessary for the creation of vitamin D, some hormones and bile salts that break down carbs, fats and proteins. Let’s unravel the truth: What is cholesterol? Does it really need to be as low as you’ve been told? Are there different types of cholesterol? How can you get normal cholesterol levels - and what are normal cholesterol levels?Ĭholesterol is a fat-like, waxy substance contained in all cells of the body as well as some foods. Sometimes, it’s important to lower cholesterol - naturally. These risks are amplified when you also have high triglycerides together, these are referred to as hyperlipidemia. On the other hand, normal cholesterol levels are important to maintain because extremely high cholesterol is a sign that something is wrong - or could go very wrong in the future (read: heart disease). Doctors are pressed to prescribe drugs like statins ( Lipitor, for example) to tens of millions of “qualifying patients,” and their goal of reducing cholesterol levels may be a (mostly) pointless effort. What if I told you the results on that culture-shaking study were published in a totally misleading way? It’s true: how we measure cholesterol levels and even what we believe them to mean has been based on a false premise. Today, an astounding 49.2 percent of people over 65 take cholesterol-lowering medication! ( 1 ) In the decades that followed, cholesterol-lowering drugs have become a major cash cow for pharmaceutical companies - between 1988–1994, the CDC reports less than two percent of Americans were on one of these medications, while over 14 percent reported taking them between 2011–2014. A large study published in the 1970s shaped how most people have thought about normal cholesterol levels for over 40 years. ![]()
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