While high levels of cholesterol in your blood can be a risk factor for heart problems, cholesterol itself is essential to the body. Cholesterol is so important that your body is able to produce cholesterol to ensure that it is available when it is needed. The American Heart Association reports that the liver makes about 1,000 mg of cholesterol daily.
What is Cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a waxy substance manufactured and used by your body to maintain good health. Your liver creates 75 percent of the cholesterol your body needs and the rest comes from your diet. Cholesterol is obtained in the diet from animal products. Excessive amounts of cholesterol in your diet can increase the amount of cholesterol in your blood. High levels of blood cholesterol increase your risk of coronary heart disease, which increases risk of heart attack.
Role of Cholesterol
According to the American Heart Association, your body uses cholesterol to form cell membranes, create hormones and maintain normal body functions. Cholesterol provides protection to some of the body's cells in the form of insulation to maintain their temperature. The liver uses cholesterol to synthesize bile, an essential enzyme in digestion. Bile is useful in the breakdown and digestion of dietary fats. Synthesizing vitamin D from sunlight also requires cholesterol. Vitamin D is needed for bone health and calcium absorption. Humans could not survive without cholesterol.
Cholesterol and the Brain
The brain contains a large amount of cholesterol compared to other organs in the body. About 25 percent of your body's total cholesterol level is found in the brain. According to Harvard Medical School, the brain is unique as it cannot absorb cholesterol from the blood, and so, must produce its own. The cholesterol in the brain is generally found in the myelin sheaths and protects the cells and helps to ensure electrical impulses occur within this organ. The brain can be negatively affected by dietary cholesterol when plaque builds up within the arteries, preventing adequate blood flow to the brain.
High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (HDL)
High density lipoproteins, HDL, carries about 25 percent of cholesterol in the blood. HDL cholesterol is often referred to as 'good' cholesterol because it removes excess cholesterol from the arteries to the liver where it can be removed from the body. HDL cholesterol has a protective effect on the heart as the higher the level of HDLs the lower the risk of heart attacks.
References
- American Heart Association: Cholesterol
- American Heart Association: About Cholesterol
- Cholesterol and Health: Vitamin D is Synthesized From Cholesterol and Found in Cholesterol-Rich Foods
- Scientific American: Mind over mass: Cholesterol Levels Might Be Controlled By Brain Circuitry
- Harvard Medical School Newsletter: Cholesterol, the Mind, and the Brain
