What are all these numbers we are supposed to know, Nitish Kumar exclaimed to our Healthier expert, while pointing at his current blood lipids result. 

My cholesterol is 190, HDL is 60, LDL is 81, Triglycerides are 247. I read these are high,” sighed Nitish, “Also what is their role in our body?”. Nitish shook his head in worry. 

Nitish is right. Most of us do not understand these terms and what they do in our body. All we end up doing is seeing the upper and lower limit and comparing our results and worrying about it. 

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What is HDL, LDL, Total cholesterol, ratio of cholesterol to HDL?
We are going to make all the healthy terms make sense, so you will know the importance to you and your heart health.

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Cholesterol is fat circulating in blood and tissues. The liver produces about 100 mg of cholesterol a day. About 150-250 mg of cholesterol comes from what you eat daily.
Vegetables, fruits and grains contain no cholesterol.

 

The cholesterol build and repair cells. Cholesterol is part of all cell membranes like liver, skin, brain, nerve tissue and intestine. It is also part of myelin sheath that surrounds and protects nerves and it is used to make Vitamin D. It is also used to produce sex hormones like estrogen, testosterone. It also participates in formation of bile acids in liver to help in digestion. 

 

Cholesterol and other fats can’t dissolve in the blood. They have to be transported to and from cells by special carriers called lipoproteins. These lipoproteins are made up of fat on inside and protein on outside. Two kinds of lipoproteins(LDL and HDL) carry cholesterol throughout the body. It is important to have healthy levels of both for optimal health.
Lipoproteins are either high density or low density, based on how much protein and fat they have. The lower the density of lipoprotein, the more fat it contains.

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HDL is good cholesterol as it helps in preventing harmful build up of cholesterol in your arteries by carrying it back to the liver for disposal. In doing so, HDL reduces cholesterol and lessens the chance of being deposited in the arteries. A good level of HDL lowers our chances of developing heart attack and stroke. Besides picking up excess cholesterol and bringing it back to liver for disposal, HDL also acts as anti oxidant which helps neutralize free radicals that contribute to artherosclerosis, is anti-inflamatory like aspirin, lessens the ability of the blood to form clots, reducing the risk of heart attack or stroke.

LDL is loaded with cholesterol and is major carrier of cholesterol from liver to the rest of the body.

 

Unlike HDL, LDL is not directly manufactured by liver. Instead a different type of lipoprotein is first produced by the liver, called Very Low Density Lipoprotein(VLDL). After circulating in the blood stream, VLDL looses most of its fats(triglyceride) cache to various bodily cells to become LDL. LDL is taken to cells and broken down and then the cholesterol is used to make membranes or hormones. 

 

When cholesterol levels are excessive, LDL deposits cholesterol onto the arteries causing the damage. For this reason, LDL is referred to as bad cholesterol. But the true culprit is the oxidized LDL.

 

When we suffer from stress(physical, mental, emotional), radiation, pollution and wrong eating(not eating 5 servings of fruits and 5 servings of vegetables everyday), drinking(alcohol) and sleeping habits(not sleeping 6 to 8 hours everyday), we get free radicals into our blood stream. They are nascent oxygen atom and unstable. To stabilize itself, they borrow oxygen atom from blood or cholesterol, inturn de-stabilzing them or oxidising them.

 

A simple visible example of oxidation is an apple, when cut and kept in open air, it turns brown due to free radical damage. When you apply lemon, the vitamin C in it, acts as anti oxidants. The oxidised LDL is like foam which clog the arteries. They grow and produce even more free radicals. 

 

The ratio of total cholesterol/HDL is the best predictor of heart disease. Just lowering total cholesterol is not enough. We need optimal number of HDL in our body too through diet and supplements.

 

When you grab a handful of tummy, or other fat storage, you are grabbing triglycerides. They are produced in body from the fats you eat, excess calories coming from alcohol, carbohydrate rich food. High

 

Triglycerides is a risk factor as it is associated with low HDL and high LDL. Through healthier eating habits, we can cut down triglycerides too.

 

Most people can can cut their risk of heart attack by 50 percent if they are willing to make few simple changes in their lifestyles.

 

By the way Nitish Kumar whose cholesterol reading was high in Sept 2018, met our healthier team, customised his diet and modified lifestyle so he can cycle regularly. He also learnt to cook healthy meals from us. He got his test done this month to see amazing results in his lipid levels.

 

You can turn your health around by having healthier lipid levels.