Given the extensive care cholesterol campaign that has been developed over several years, the public identified cholesterol as a very harmful substance to the body. But we all have cholesterol.
Cholesterol is a lipid, very necessary for life, as with the body synthesizes bile, a substance secreted by the liver, important for digestion. Its also produces sex hormones and what is more important, cholesterol is an indispensable component of the membranes (walls) of all cells, especially brain cells.
What is harmful, are the excesses of cholesterol and they are deposited on artery walls promoting atherosclerosis, a process that narrows the vessels light thus hindering the passage of blood must transport food and oxygen to various tissues and organs.
This is of special interest at heart and brain. When the arteries narrow too, can become clogged causing the death by malnutrition of the cells that are behind this obstruction. This is what is known as a heart attack in the case of the heart and causes of stroke if brain.
We can dispense with blood total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol) as this is the cholesterol that is traveling to the liver where it is processed, and LDL (bad cholesterol) which is what tends to get into the cells lining the artery walls. (more…)
