Cholesterol is a fatty, waxy substance that your body uses to build cell membranes, produce vitamin D and other hormones, manufacture bile, digest fats and absorb fat-soluble vitamins. Your body naturally makes all the cholesterol it needs for these functions; excess dietary cholesterol can cause a buildup in your bloodstream. High cholesterol levels are associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure, stroke and coronary artery disease.
HDL and LDL Cholesterol
There are two types of cholesterol -- HDL, the good cholesterol, and LDL, the bad cholesterol. Only LDL, low-density lipoproteins, can clog your arteries. HDL, or high-density lipoproteins, work to remove extra cholesterol from your cells and transport it to your liver for use. When you get a cholesterol test, you want at least 60 mg/dL of HDL. The higher your HDL level, the better. Ideally, your LDL level will be below 150 mg/dL and your total cholesterol reading will be below 200 mg/dL.
Low-Density Lipoprotein
Cholesterol and blood are like oil and water -- they don't mix. Cholesterol has to bond with protein to form a lipoprotein and move throughout your body. Lipid is another term for fat or cholesterol. LDL has a higher cholesterol-to-fat ratio than HDL and forms a larger particle. These larger particles can build up in your bloodstream, attaching to the walls of your arteries and hardening to form atherosclerosis.
Atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis is a hardening of your arteries caused by cholesterol. The cholesterol forms a plaque, narrowing and hardening your arteries, reducing the flow of oxygenated blood to vital organs, such as your heart or brain. Coronary heart disease occurs when your heart doesn't receive enough oxygen because the arteries leading to your heart are too narrow, or blocked entirely. You may feel some chest pain, called angina, when your heart doesn't receive enough blood. Sometimes the plaque can rupture, releasing fat into your bloodstream and causing a clot. This might cause a heart attack if the clot completely stops blood flow to the heart, or a stroke, if blood to the brain is stopped.
Tips to Lower Your Cholesterol
You can reduce your risk of atherosclerosis by maintaining a healthy body weight, exercising at least 30 minutes daily five days a week, reducing your dietary cholesterol and saturated fat intake, eating more soluble fiber, stopping smoking, limiting your alcohol intake and using medications to lower cholesterol levels.
