What is cholesterol?
Cholesterol is an organic lipid molecule and is biosynthesized by all animal cells because it is an essential structural component of all animal (not plant or bacterial) cell membranes that is required to maintain both membrane structural integrity and fluidity.
The level of cholesterol in our body is a result of a process in the liver that creates the cholesterol. In fact, over 85% of our cholesterol is produced by the liver. The rest comes from eating animal products, such as beef, chicken, fish, eggs, and dairy.
The body is an incredible system, and a healthy body creates cholesterol for a reason, since it is an essential material in our bodies:
1. Cholesterol is used to produce hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.
2. Cholesterol is vital for the creation of vitamin D.
3. The membrane of every cell in our body contains cholesterol.
4. Cholesterol is used to produce needed steroids.
When do you have too much cholesterol?
A situation of higher-than-normal levels of cholesterol can be worrying because it may build up in the blood vessels and cause coronary diseases, as well as problems with blood flow.
The normal range of cholesterol in the body is up to 200 mg.
The standard medicine taken to treat additional cholesterol levels operates by delaying the enzyme that takes part in the process of creating cholesterol in the liver, so we limit the rate of building our own cholesterol. But is it logical for us to limit the internal creation of cholesterol without addressing the external source? Nutrition will always be crucial when dealing with a surplus of cholesterol. more