| Cholesterol is: | | | | |
| | | | - Is found in every cell of your body (in |
| - A fat-like substance found only in animal | | | | cell membranes, your brain, and nerves). |
| food. | | | | |
| | | | - Is needed to produce estrogen, |
| - A tasteless, odorless, and transparent | | | | testosterone, and vitamin D. |
| liquid that feels oily when you touch it. | | | | |
| | | | - Cannot be used for energy (so it provides |
| Any non-animal food (plants, fruits, | | | | no calories). |
| vegetable, beans, or nuts) will not contain | | | | |
| cholesterol: only animals can produce it. | | | | Cholesterol is not as bad as we often assume |
| | | | it is. There are actually two types of |
| Although we've been told that high blood | | | | cholesterol: |
| cholesterol is risky for our heart and that | | | | |
| we should watch out for cholesterol in our | | | | LDL (Bad) Cholesterol |
| diet, the majority (2/3) of the cholesterol | | | | |
| found in our blood is made by the liver. | | | | When too much LDL (bad) cholesterol |
| | | | circulates in the blood, it can slowly build |
| The rest (1/3) does come from the diet. | | | | up in the inner walls of the arteries that |
| Still, we discovered recently that if you eat | | | | feed the heart and brain. Together with other |
| less, your liver might adjust and make more. | | | | substances, it can form plaque, a thick, hard |
| | | | deposit that can narrow the arteries and make |
| So, how do you lower your blood cholesterol | | | | them less flexible. If a clot forms and |
| level? First and foremost by eating less | | | | blocks a narrowed artery, heart attack or |
| saturated and trans fat. | | | | stroke can result. |
| | | | |
| In short: | | | | HDL (Good) Cholesterol |
| | | | |
| The cholesterol found in your blood comes | | | | About one-fourth to one-third of blood |
| from 2 sources: | | | | cholesterol is carried by high-density |
| | | | lipoprotein (HDL). HDL cholesterol is known |
| First Source: liver - two-thirds of the | | | | as "good" cholesterol, because high levels of |
| cholesterol available to the body. | | | | HDL seem to protect against heart attack. Low |
| | | | levels of HDL also increase the risk of heart |
| Second Source: one-third of the cholesterol | | | | disease. Medical experts think that HDL tends |
| comes from foods, like: | | | | to carry cholesterol away from the arteries |
| | | | and back to the liver, where it's passed from |
| - Meat | | | | the body. |
| | | | |
| - Egg yolk | | | | Eating cholesterol is very much like choosing |
| | | | how to eat fats: there is a good and a bad. |
| - Dairy product | | | | Keep bad cholesterol at a minimum and you |
| | | | will reduce your risk of cardiovascular |
| Cholesterol: | | | | disease significantly. |