What is Cholesterol and Why It Matters?
Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a fatty substance from two sources: their own body and some foods. The liver makes the cholesterol necessary and sufficient for the normal functioning of the body.
The body uses cholesterol to make hormones, vitamin D and bile acids that help digest fat. It takes only a small amount of cholesterol in the blood to meet these needs.
Cholesterol is the main sterol in the human body and precursor of all other steroids body. It is part of cell membranes, lipoproteins, bile acids and steroid hormones.
Cholesterol is an important constituent of gallstones, but its main pathological feature, is for the production of atherosclerosis of vital arteries causing heart disease, stroke and peripheral vascular disease.
The animal-derived foods are rich in cholesterol, especially eggs, dairy and meat. Most of this is in esterified form.
The body absorbs about half the cholesterol content in the diet. Plant sterols are poorly absorbed by the body.
Cholesterol and Genetics
Because the body can produce its own cholesterol, the possibility exists that people who do not consume cholesterol, high blood levels have to have a genetic-metabolic disorder that leads to the elevation. These disorders are more common than thought and are the leading cause of vascular diseases, including acute myocardial infarction. Hence the importance of identifying early as high cholesterol levels in patients.
Cholesterol is synthesized by virtually all nucleated cells of the body. The liver is the main producing organ (10% of total), with other major organs in producing the intestine, adrenal cortex, testes and ovary. Cholesterol synthesis is regulated primarily by the intake of dietary cholesterol.
Cholesterol is a fat being slightly soluble in water, so if you are transported free by the blood would be in the form of droplets and cholesterol in our blood would be as fat droplets. But the fact is that nature has devised a way to make water-soluble and transport cholesterol in the blood and this is by lipoproteins. Lipoproteins are complex whereby lipoprotein cholesterol, cholesterol esters, triglycerides and phospholipids are transported through the blood.