what is cholesterol?
By Kaitlyn Chadwick
How many facts do you actually know?
Cholesterol is a fatty substance that is essential to the body and how it functions daily. We receive cholesterol by our livers producing it and saturated fats we eat. Cholesterol is transported all around the body known as LDL or HDL.
What is LDL and ? Lets take a closer look!
LDL (low density Lipoproteins) is known as bad cholesterol. When LDL is transported from the liver to the rest of the body, build up in the arties occur. HDL ( high density lipoproteins) transports any excess cholesterol back to the liver where your metabolism will start its process. Both LDL and HDL transport cholesterol but both have different structures and functions. LDL has only 50% cholesterol and 25% is protein. Where HDL is the opposite. Even though they both contain proteins, proteins determine functions and they contain very different proteins.
How do you know if you are at risk?
You can check to see if you are at risk by a simple blood test. Blood tests show your LDL and HDL levels that can tell you if you are on the right track. LDL and HDL should be pretty balanced. With to much of LDL your body will have plague build up that will slow your blood flow and will cause you to have server problems in the future. Try and make sure you eat a good amount of saturated fats to help the amount of cholesterol your body obtained and try and check your levels at your yearly checkups.
Citations
* How do LDL and HDL Differ Structurally? (n.d.) Retrieved April 22, 2016 http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/ldl-hdl-differ-structually-functionally-2003.html