This is How Cholesterol REALLY Works

How Cholesterol Really Works Is Quite Delicate

Most people don’t understand how cholesterol really works and is used in your body.

Many of us have been taught that we need to watch how much cholesterol or fat we eat, because eating too much can cause high levels in our blood. High blood cholesterol levels may lead to plaque build up in our arteries which can cause a heart attack or stroke.

And while this can be the case, is this the whole story when it comes to cholesterol? If you want to understand how cholesterol really works, keep reading to find out!

What is Cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a waxy substance found in your body. Your body actually makes cholesterol and you get it by eating it from animal foods. So if your body makes cholesterol, where is it made?

How the Body Makes Cholesterol

Cholesterol is made in the liver. Your liver makes all the cholesterol that your body needs. The cholesterol that you eat from food is just mere extra.

The liver tries to make up for this extra cholesterol by producing less, but that can only do so much. Additionally, some people inherit genes that can affect the liver’s cholesterol production. This can lead to unhealthy balances of cholesterol in the body which may cause disease. Nonetheless, the body uses cholesterol for different functions depending on the cholesterol type.

How Cholesterol is Used By the Body

There are three types of cholesterol that perform different tasks in your body. They are Very Low Density (VLDL) cholesterol, Lipoprotein Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.

LDL Cholesterol

This type of cholesterol carries cholesterol to your heart’s arteries. It may collect on the vessels and cause diseases such as atherosclerosis. This is typically known as the bad cholesterol. Foods high in LDL cholesterol include beef, pork, lamb, full fat dairy products, processed foods, deli meats, baked goods and fried foods,

VLDL Cholesterol

VLDL cholesterol leaves the liver to deliver fat to your muscle and fat cells to be stored and used for energy. As VLDL travels throughout the body, it transforms into LDL. Therefore. excessive VLDLs, may cause elevated LDL levels and lead to complications in the body as discussed above.

HDL Cholesterol

Lasty, HDL cholesterol is known as the good cholesterol, and for good reason. It carries cholesterol from other parts of your body back to your liver. Once in the liver, your liver then removes the cholesterol from your body. Foods high in HDL cholesterol include soy rich foods, fatty fish such as salmon, nuts, olive oil, flaxseeds, chia seeds, leafy greens, legumes and oats.

Click here to read a previous blog post, *8 Simple Heart Healthy Foods You Can Eat Today”, to learn more about foods that help to lower cholesterol

Understanding How Cholesterol Really Works

Now that you have a better understanding of how cholesterol really works in the body, you see that it’s quite complicated.

One could say that LDL and VLDL cholesterol obviously are determinantal to your health, so we should try to get those levels as close the zero as possible. As we learned in this blog post though, both of them have their place. Plus, you can’t completely eliminate them because the liver makes them anyway. It’s one of those thing where you truly need to balance.

If you would like help balancing your meals to keep your cholesterol levels in check, click here to schedule a one-to-one medical nutrition therapy session with me.

Lastly, let us know in the comments if you’ve learned anything new. Also, feel free to share some of your favorite cholesterol lowering foods!