Cholesterol and its types

Cholesterol is a fat-like substance (lipid) that happens in all our bodies and it is needed so our body can work properly and keep us healthy. The cholesterol we need is formed by our liver, but in most cases the excess of cholesterol is a result of food we eat or is inherited. Cholesterol is carried in the blood by molecules lipoproteins which have a combination of Lipid (fat) and proteins.

The most common names for the types of cholesterol are ¨bad¨ and ¨good¨ cholesterol. Having too much of one or too little of the other one can be dangerous and lead to coronary disease.

Actually, cholesterol is classified in three types:

LDL (low density lipoprotein): Known as ¨bad¨ cholesterol , LDL transports cholesterol from the liver to the cells. If too much cholesterol is carried to the cells, or is too much for them to handle this can build up a damaging amount of LDL leading to an growing risk of an arterial disease.

HDL (high density lipoprotein): this type is known as the good cholesterol. Totally different to LDL, HDL actually prevents arterial diseases. This type does the opposing of LDL and carries back the cholesterol from the cell to the liver where is expulsed from the body of broken down.

Triglycerides: chemical form in which most fat exist in the body and food. They are in blood plasma. The triglycerides along with cholesterol form the plasma lipid or blood fat. This type of cholesterol is produced by food we eat or the energy source in our bodies such as carbohydrates. The calories we do not use are later on converted in triglycerides and stored in our fat cells so when our bodies require energy and there´s no source of energy such as food the triglycerides are released and used as energy. This process is controlled by hormones.