Cholesterol prevention basics

| Cholesterol is a type of lipid or fat that is found naturally in our body and is needed to carry out all vital functions properly.

It is present in all the cells of our body as part of the cell membrane as well as in the bloodstream. It is also involved in the synthesis of hormones, vitamin D, and bile acids.

The liver is the organ responsible for manufacturing most of the cholesterol necessary for our body, approximately 70%. The remaining 30% comes from the food we eat. Thus, when we eat foods of animal origin (meat, eggs, fish, whole dairy products) we introduce additional cholesterol into the body.

The level of cholesterol in the blood is more sensitive to the type of fat ingested than to the amount, being saturated fat (fatty meat, whole dairy products, charcuterie, pastries, palm oil, coconut) the most harmful.

Cholesterol is a water insoluble fat. To be conducted through the blood it needs to be attached to particles called lipoproteins. There are many types, but the most named are: LDL and HDL. LDL or low density are popularly known as "bad cholesterol." They are responsible for transporting cholesterol from the liver to all the cells of our body. While HDL or high-density lipoproteins known as "good cholesterol" collect unused cholesterol and return it to the liver for excretion, through the bile, or storage.

This cycle is kept in balance under normal conditions. If the amount of cholesterol ingested exceeds the amount of HDL available, the excess cholesterol adheres to the walls of the arteries forming a plaque, called atheroma plaque. This obstructs the lumen of the arteries producing a pathology known as arteriosclerosis. When the affected artery is large, the consequences can be very serious.

Therefore, it can be deduced that, if HDL levels are high and LDL levels are low, there will be a lower risk of suffering from cardiovascular disease; On the contrary, if HDL levels are low and LDL levels are high, the risk is high.