Facts About Cholesterol and Fats
Most people know that fat is bad for them, but two-thirds of Americans are confused about cholesterol and how it is different from fat.
What Is Cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a waxy substance your body needs to work properly. But too much cholesterol can be bad for you. Your body makes cholesterol. You get cholesterol from animal products like meat, dairy foods, and eggs.
Can You Burn Off Cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a type of lipid, just as fats are. However, unlike fat, cholesterol can't be exercised off, sweated out, or burned for energy.
Is Cholesterol Good or Bad?
Just as homemade oil-and-vinegar dressing separates into a watery pool with a fat-slick topping, so also would fats and cholesterol if they were dumped directly into the blood. To solve this dilemma, the body transports fat and cholesterol by coating them with a water-soluble "bubble" of protein. This protein-fat bubble is called a lipoprotein.
- Low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) carry cholesterol to the tissues. This is "bad" cholesterol, since high LDL levels are linked to increased risk for heart disease.
- High-density lipoproteins (HDLs) carry excess cholesterol back to the liver, which processes and excretes the cholesterol. HDLs are "good" cholesterol: The more HDL you have, the lower your risk for developing heart disease.
- HDLs and LDLs are found only in your blood, not in food.
Test Your Cholesterol
A blood-cholesterol test is an important tool your doctor can use to help determine your overall risk for heart disease. The results of your test will show both your total cholesterol and the level of LDL, HDL, and triglycerides circulating in your blood.
These results will be used along with other factors such as your gender, race, age, weight, smoking status, and health issues such as high blood pressure and diabetes to determine your chance of having a serious heart or circulation problem within the next 10 years. At that point, your doctor will discuss with you a strategy for reducing that risk. That strategy will include what steps, if any, you might need to take to lower your LDL cholesterol.