Cholesterol and Natural Health: Why is it Necessary?
Cholesterol is fundamental for natural health, playing essential roles in hormone production and neurological function. Discover its importance in this article.
What is Cholesterol
It’s true, you need cholesterol.
This soft and waxy substance is found not only in your bloodstream but also in every cell of your body, where it helps in the production of cell membranes, hormones, vitamin D, and bile acids that aid in fat digestion.
Cholesterol also helps in the formation of memories and is vital for neurological function.
Your liver produces about 75 percent of the cholesterol in your body[i] and according to conventional medicine.
There are two types:
- High-density lipoprotein or HDL: This is the so-called “good” cholesterol that helps keep cholesterol away from the arteries and removes excess arterial plaque, which could help prevent heart disease.
- Low-density lipoprotein or LDL: The so-called “bad” cholesterol circulates in the blood and according to conventional thinking, could accumulate in the arteries, forming a plaque that makes the arteries narrower and less flexible (a disease called atherosclerosis). If a clot forms in one of these arteries leading to the brain or heart, it could then cause a stroke or a heart attack.
Those that also count towards total cholesterol are:
- Triglycerides: Elevated levels of this dangerous fat have been linked to heart disease and diabetes. It is known that triglyceride levels rise when consuming many grains and sugars, being physically inactive, smoking, drinking alcohol excessively, and being overweight or obese.
- Lipoprotein or Lp (a): Lp (a) is a substance made of “bad” LDL cholesterol plus the protein (apoprotein a). Elevated levels of Lp (a) are a significant risk factor for heart disease. This has been well established, yet few doctors check these levels in their patients.
