Good Cholesterol

Doctors, Dietitians, and Health Experts all advice that we should keep our Good Cholesterol up and that we maintain the quality of our good cholesterol. But what really is good cholesterol and why do we need it?

This good cholesterol that most advertisements and drug companies speak of is not actually a type of cholesterol but rather a lipoprotein. There is only one type of cholesterol and that is “Cholesterol”; there is no good cholesterol nor bad cholesterol.

Lipoproteins however have five types and each type has its own function and characteristics. Two of the more popular lipoproteins are LDLs and HDLs. These two popular kinds of lipoproteins are the ones that are usually mistaken by people as bad and good cholesterol.

High Density Lipoproteins (HDL) are lipoproteins that contain the highest proportion of proteins in its make up. Its primary function is to retrieve cholesterol from the tissues within the body and return it to the liver for recycling. Based on this function, it is referred to as the “good cholesterol.”Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL) on the other hand are considered to be “bad cholesterol” because it carries cholesterol from the liver to the tissues.

It is believed that to reduce the risk of heart illnesses, one must maintain high levels of HDL in the body while keeping a low count of LDL that delivers cholesterol to the tissues. This may help reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and other heart related diseases but it is also important to remember that by merely increasing the HDL level in the body is not enough to reduce the risk of heart diseases. What you want is to maintain a high level of “good quality HDL” that will collect the unused cholesterol from the tissues and not just a high level of HDL.

LDL Cholesterol

Low Density Lipoproteins are vessels used by lipidic substances to travel within the aqueous blood stream. Fatty substances like Cholesterol and triglycerides cannot travel, let alone, mix with the blood within a person’s body because oil and water don’t mix.

But the body needs both cholesterol and triglyceride to survive. The body uses cholesterol to regenerate cell membranes, create new cells and produce steroid hormones. Triglyceride, on the other hand are fat cells used by eukaryotes to store energy. This means that both these lipidic compounds are essential for the human body’s survival.

Unfortunately, since these lipidic substances cannot move freely within the water dominated body, they require transports to move from one place within the body to another where they are needed the most. In these situations, the transports that they use are lipoproteins. But depending on their destination, the lipoprotein that carries them may vary.

Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL) carry cholesterol and triglycerides from the liver, where they are made, to the tissues around the body. These LDLs, just like every lipoprotein, is a substance that is composed of both proteins and lipids. The outer layer is made of proteins which allows it to move and mix with water in the blood stream while the inner layer is lipidic which makes it compatible with other fatty substances allowing cholesterol and triglyceride to be stored in the core.

Since it’s purpose is to deliver cholesterol to the tissues, and since we were led to believe that cholesterol is bad for the body because it causes atherosclerosis, it paved the way for a belief that the cholesterol carried by LDLs are hazardous. Thus, the term “bad cholesterol” was associated with LDL.

Recently, there are doctors and health specialists that are trying to correct this misconception. The truth is that LDL is not bad cholesterol, it’s not cholesterol at all. And as much as LDL is no cholesterol, the package carried by this type of lipoproteins are not bad cholesterol either. The fact is that all cholesterols are the same. Whether it is carried by HDL or by LDL, cholesterol is cholesterol. There is no bad cholesterol nor good cholesterol.

Now, you might be asking how atherosclerosis are formed and what creates them.

Atherosclerosis was believed to be the accumulation of fats and cholesterol along the arterial endothelium causing the hardening of the arteries and blockage of the blood vessels. But according to recent studies the hardening of the arteries isn’t caused by the collection of cholesterol sediments along the arteries but the accumulation of white blood cells trying to repair damaged cells.

Atherosclerosis apparently is caused not by the amount of cholesterol in the body but the oxidation of LDLs which carry cholesterol.

When LDLs enter the arteries, it is susceptible to oxidants being pumped by the heart. These oxidants will alter the LDL’s chemical make up, thus oxidizing it. These oxidized LDLs will become hazardous for human tissues. When they get in contact with other tissues, the endothelium in particular, it will cause an inflammation that will trigger the immune system. The immune system will send macrophages, a type of white blood cell, to repair the damages. It will absorb the oxidized LDL to process it but since it carries lipidic substances, the macrophage will not be able to repair the damage totally. With this, more macrophages will be called to the scene to help repair the damages until layers upon layers of macrophages will collect in that area of the artery blocking the blood vessel.

Based on this explanation, some specialists now believe that healthy LDLs are not the main cause of atherosclerosis at all. The danger only arises when these LDL molecules are exposed to free radicals and become oxidized.

With this, the recommendation of these specialists is that we should have a regular intake of antioxidants to prevent the damaging of any particles or molecules within our body that will cause any type of maladies, or diseases. Of course, to minimize the chances of having an LDL oxidized by free radicals, it would be wise to lower the count of LDLs in the body.