What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol often plays the role of villain in our body. We lump it in with rats, mosquitoes, and other harmful things. But is cholesterol meant to only bring us disease and guilt?

The truth is your body relies on cholesterol to perform many essential functions. Cholesterol is a building block – without it, many vital processes would be impossible. For example, our body’s ability to produce testosterone and estrogen depends highly on having cholesterol. Without it, we wouldn’t have the masculine and feminine features we enjoy. We also need cholesterol to make
vitamin D and as a key component of our cell walls.

So, if you’ve never done it, take a moment and thank cholesterol for all that it does for you. Life would not be possible without it.

Cholesterol – An analogy

I love analogies, so let’s make one to understand cholesterol better. Since it’s a building block in our body, picture cholesterol as a brick. With enough bricks, you could build all sorts of things like a wall, house, or a road.

Similarly, cholesterol gets used to construct many different things in our bodies. However, just like bricks can’t move on their own, neither can cholesterol! It needs helpers called lipoproteins to transport them around.

LDL

LDL, short for low-density lipoprotein, is what we call the “bad” cholesterol.

Its job is to carry cholesterol from the liver to where it’s needed, like a truck hauling bricks.

We label it bad because we often consume much more cholesterol than needed. Since our body can only use so much, LDL keeps shuttling the excess to our bloodstream, where it can build up and cause problems.

Imagine if you were on a construction site and it was discovered that someone had ordered 100,000 bricks when the job only needed 1,000. Imagine how much havoc it would create if bricks kept getting delivered with no end in sight. Pretty soon, it would be hard to get any work done with all the bricks in the way. That’s essentially what happens when our cholesterol and LDL levels get too high.

HDL

Luckily for you, your body is always trying to restore balance. You have another truck called HDL, short for high-density lipoprotein, which we call “good” cholesterol. HDL’s job is to roam the bloodstream, collecting extra cholesterol and bringing it back to the liver to recycle, like a clean-up crew. The more HDL we have, the more trucks are available to clean up our work site.

Ok, thanks. But what’s the big deal?

If you’ve read my article, What is Blood Pressure, you’ve learned that consistently high blood pressure can damage your artery walls by creating tiny tears. These tears then form the perfect spot for LDL to dump its excess cholesterol payload as it passes by. Over time, these deposits build up and harden in a process called calcification, forming plaques that can block blood flow.

Remember, our heart needs to pump blood everywhere for us to live. If one of these blockages cuts off blood flow to our brain, we call that a stroke. If it happens around our heart, it’s a heart attack. The one-two punch of high blood pressure and high cholesterol is exactly why heart disease has been the leading cause of death for the last 70 years.

Lipid Panel

Your cholesterol levels are checked with a blood test called a lipid panel. ‘Lipids’ is a fancy chemistry word for fats. No, not body fat like what’s on my love handles. In chemistry, fats are a group of substances that don’t mix well with water. And cholesterol is a type
of fat.

Anyway, a lipid panel measures several different cholesterol levels all at once. Let’s break down what each one means so you understand what’s happening the next time your doctor brings this up.

Total Cholesterol – Goal: Under 200

- Remember, cholesterol represents our bricks. They are essential to life; we need them to make testosterone, estrogen, vitamin D, and cell walls.
- Your liver makes all the cholesterol you need, but we often consume cholesterol through our diet. Cholesterol is only found in animal products like meat and dairy.
- New research shows the cholesterol we eat impacts our blood levels less than previously thought. Rather than eliminating all animal products, I advise limiting the amount of LDL you consume.

LDL – Goal: Under 100

- LDL starts with L, so you want it to be low. Eating lots of LDL has a more significant effect on cholesterol levels since it means more trucks to transport cholesterol into the blood. It is found in:
  - - Saturated Fats
    - Trans Fats

HDL – Goal: Above 60

- HDL starts with H, so higher is better. It removes excess cholesterol, so more trucks means cleaner blood. These are found in:
  - Healthy Fats (Nuts, Seeds, Avocados. Fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids, Olive oil, and other vegetable oils).
  - Fiber-Rich foods (Whole grains, Fruits, Vegetables, Beans, Lentils).

Triglycerides – Goal: Below 150

- We did not discuss this, but triglycerides are another type of lipid used for energy rather than building. Excess triglycerides are stored for later use in our fat cells (which contributes to body fat). Our body can use stored triglycerides as an emergency energy supply between meals.
- Triglycerides are found in sugary foods, refined carbohydrates, saturated fats, and trans fats.

Takeaways

Eat less of these	Eat more of these
Fast food	Avocado
Packaged snacks – Chips, cookies, crackers	Nuts
Fried foods	Seeds
Fatty meats – Bacon, sausage, deli meats	Fatty Fish
Baked goods	Olive oil, Avocado oil
Full-fat dairy – Milk, yogurt, cheese	Fruits and Vegetables
Foods high in added sugar	Lean Proteins

1. Remember, cholesterol is only found in animal products (meat, dairy, and eggs), and these foods get villainized the most. Instead, focus on limiting foods on the left first, as they will have a much more significant impact.

2. Prioritize limiting, not eliminating, the foods on the left side. You know you’ll never be able to give it up permanently.

3. Foods on the right side can be high in healthy fats. Fats have a lot of calories, so you must still be mindful of portion sizes. Don’t eat a large bag of nuts in one sitting, or use a cup of olive oil in your cooking. Look at the back label to see how big a portion size is.

4. Diet is only part of the problem. Genetics greatly influence how easy or difficult it will be to manage your cholesterol.

5. Research has shown that exercise can lower LDL and triglycerides while raising HDL.

6. Get your cholesterol levels checked at least once a year. Do it more often if your doctor recommends it.

7. Medication may be necessary. I know you think you don’t need it, but medication may be invaluable if dietary changes are not lowering your levels enough.

8. Eliminating foods rarely works. You are much better off limiting foods but indulging in them occasionally without guilt. Find an approach you can stick to permanently rather than making drastic changes that will only last a few weeks.

Look at you go, you made it all the way to the end! You just read a whole article about…cholesterol…it’s like I don’t even know you anymore. If you still want more, read up on How to Be Healthy or our companion article What is Blood Pressure?