Cholesterol Demystified: The Role of Lipoproteins and the Importance of Healthy Fats
Are you wondering about your elevated cholesterol from your recent lab work? If you are, you are not the only one. We have been told that elevated cholesterol is terrible, with LDL and triglyceride being the worst because they cause plague, which leads to cardiovascular disease. As a result, eat a low-fat diet!
Imagine an engineer constructing a bridge; the trucks transporting the construction materials are called lipoproteins – low-density lipoproteins (LDL). LDL carries raw materials to the construction site; high-density lipoproteins (HDL) carry construction debris and materials from the site.
Imagine the construction materials transported are cholesterol and lipid-fat/triglyceride. You see, when blood cholesterol is elevated, it could indicate an increased need for raw materials (cholesterol) being transported by the LDL and HDL (trucks) to and from other parts of the body (construction site).
Cholesterol is a steroid found in every cell of the body. Cholesterol is found in our diet for building cell structure, hormone health, and muscle and joint health. If you can imagine a house without a window or a door, think about how safe one can feel living in that house in a rough neighborhood. The occupants will not feel safe living in the house.
Cholesterol and other fat from some of the foods listed below make up the building block of a body, just like the windows, doors, and bricks that make up the outside of the house. You can see how important it is to have healthy fats in the diet to keep the cardiovascular and other body systems working to get nutrients and waste to and from the body’s for healthy cells.
When our diet is low in fat, it affects HDL and LDL levels. If low, it causes the liver to up-regulate production. Although high HDL is excellent, too high can tip total cholesterol readings and LDL or triglycerol. When cholesterol is above the lab’s high level, your doctor and holistic practitioners want to know why.
An adequate amount of cholesterol from our diet is necessary for maintaining cell membrane integrity- repairing wounds, moisturizing the skin, and protecting tissue from infection; preventing the risk of oxidative stress; protecting against free radicals that could lead to disease and cancer; serving as an insulator -myelin sheath for nerve cells; necessary for bile formation for fat emulsification and digestion; vitamin D production; stress and reproductive hormone production; carriers for the elimination of toxins from the gut and it also acts as antioxidant. Recent studies now show that total cholesterol does not indication of cardiovascular disease.
When you have healthy fats in your diet, you will have adequate cholesterol to prevent cardiovascular disease and improve blood flow to lubrication and nourish your muscles, bones, and joints. Consuming healthy fats like avocado and olive oil and improving liver function can be very helpful in helping keep a balanced cholesterol level. As you know, finding that balance is essential to cardiovascular health. As the saying goes, “Too much of everything is terrible.” Please get in touch with your doctor, HECM Wellness, or other integrative practitioners for support.