Although many people often think that cholesterol is a harmful substance in your body, it is actually an important component in your digestive system, cell structures and certain hormones. The problem is when you have too much cholesterol. Your liver synthesizes about 800 to 1,500 milligrams of cholesterol a day, which is about 80 percent of your total body cholesterol, according to nutrition expert Gordon Wardlaw of Ohio State University. Therefore, you should minimize your cholesterol intake from food to prevent excess cholesterol accumulation in your bloodstream.
Function
Cholesterol is a type of lipid, or fat, that your body needs to maintain cell membranes, regulate the amount of fluids in and out of the cell, transport fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, and form steroid hormones, such as testosterone and estrogen. Digestion is simple a metabolic process to liberate energy from food and break down food to its basic forms to provide your body's structures.
Digestive System
The digestive system breaks down food into microscopic particles so that your body can absorb and deliver the nutrients to all cells in your body, according to Wardlaw. Digestion begins in your mouth, where you chew the food to break it down into smaller pieces for easier swallowing and digestion in your stomach. Your salivary glands produce amylase that breaks down some carbohydrates into simple sugars. In your stomach, hydrochloric acid and pepsin, a type of digestive enzyme, break down protein into simpler components for better absorption in the small intestines. After two to three hours of digestion in the stomach, the food moves into your small intestines, where it gets absorbed in the villi, which are microscopic, finger-like projections in the walls of the intestines. Your gallbladder releases bile, which is made up of cholesterol and bicarbonates, to help digest fats in the upper small intestines. Whatever materials do not get absorbed pass through the large intestine, which absorbs water and other nutrients. The undigested food becomes feces and is then excreted through the rectum and anus.
LDL and HDL
Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) are a type of lipid that carry cholesterol from your liver to your arteries, while high-density lipoproteins (HDL) carry cholesterol away from your arteries and into your liver for storage and reprocessing. Certain types of food you eat can raise or lower each lipoprotein's level. According to the Mayo Clinic, eating foods rich in unsaturated fats, such as cold-water fish, nuts, seeds, legumes and avocados, raises your HDL level and lowers LDL levels at the same time. This will minimize your risk of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and cancer.
Recommended Levels
The American Heart Association recommends that you keep you total blood cholesterol level below 200 milligrams per deciliter of blood. This equates to about four grains of sand in every half cup of blood.
Prevention
Dietary fiber is the undigestible part of plants that lowers blood cholesterol by absorbing cholesterol in the digestive tract, particular in the small intestines. They form the bulk of feces where cholesterol and other wastes are excreted. According to the Mayo Clinic, when your cholesterol level is low in your digestive system, your liver produces more HDLs to carry cholesterol away from your bloodstream and into the liver to make more bile acids.
References
- "Perspectives in Nutrition"; Gordon Wardlaw; 2002
- "Mayo Clinic"; Dietary Fiber
- "American Heart Association"; What Your Cholesterol Levels Mean
- "Mayo Clinic"; HDL Cholesterol
