Most people know that high cholesterol is bad for your health, but there are some interesting facts you probably didn’t know about cholesterol:
1. Cholesterol is a waxy substance that your body needs to make hormones, vitamin D, and other substances that help with digestion. Your body makes all the cholesterol it needs. However, cholesterol is also obtained from animal foods, such as meats and dairy products.
2. There are many types of cholesterol. The most commonly mentioned are: HDL cholesterol (often called “good” cholesterol); and LDL cholesterol (often called “bad” cholesterol).
Bad cholesterol (LDL) carries cholesterol to tissues. High levels of LDL cholesterol increase your risk of heart disease, stroke, and other problems. Good cholesterol (HDL) carries excess levels of cholesterol to the liver, where it is processed and removed from the body. The more HDL cholesterol you have, the lower your risk of heart disease.
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3. “Low cholesterol” foods can raise your cholesterol. This is because many foods marketed as “low cholesterol” are high in trans fats and saturated fats, which raise blood cholesterol.
4. LDL cholesterol slowly sticks to artery walls, causing thick plaque that can narrow arteries, impede blood flow, and may even cause dangerous blood clots to form.
5. Medications aren’t the only way to lower cholesterol. Foods high in soluble fiber help prevent cholesterol from being absorbed by the digestive tract.
Eat plenty of soluble fiber: whole grain cereals like oatmeal; fruits like apples, bananas, pears, and prunes; legumes like beans, lentils, chickpeas, black-eye beans, and lima beans.
Although LDL cholesterol can be controlled with a healthy diet, if your LDL cholesterol is chronically high, you may need medication to lower it.
6. If your cholesterol levels are high, you can’t burn it off by exercising, and your body can’t use it for energy like fats.
7. Cholesterol naturally increases as you age. To prevent or treat an increase in bad cholesterol in your blood, the two most important preventive measures are diet and exercise.
If your cholesterol levels are high, you can’t burn it off by exercising, and your body can’t use it for energy like fats.
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References
https://medlineplus.gov/spanish/ency/article/000403.htm
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/hbc
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/9152.php