Cholesterol

Our bodies use fat for energy and repairs.  Given that fat cannot mix with water (the major ingredient in blood), cholesterol has been given the job of transporting fat through our blood vessels.

Our livers make most of the cholesterol needed to carry fat. What is not used for repairs or energy is sent to fat storage sites such as our hips or belly. Some cholesterol comes from eating foods like eggs, fatty meats and butter.
The liver places cholesterol into packages called lipoproteins, made from lipids (fat and cholesterol) and protein. Three kinds of lipoprotein packages are VLDL (very low-density lipoprotein), LDL (low-density lipoprotein), and HDL (high-density lipoprotein). Each has a different job:
VLDL:  Carries fat from the liver to other parts of the body. VLDL becomes LDL after it unloads fat.
LDL:  It is called “bad” cholesterol because pieces of it easily become stuck along the blood vessel walls.
HDL:  Is called “good” cholesterol. It finds and rescues stuck LDL pieces and brings them back to the liver.

How Cholesterol does its Job
After we eat fat, it passes through our stomachs; it is digested and absorbed into our small intestines. It is then sent to our liver for processing and shipping throughout our body. The liver loads fat into VLDLs. VLDLs travel through our blood vessels to unload fat throughout our body. The empty VLDLs become LDLs and some LDL pieces become stuck along the blood vessel walls, narrowing the blood vessels. HDLs rescue stuck LDL pieces and bring them back to the liver where the LDL pieces are either recycled into new VLDLs. If we eat too much fat, our liver makes extra VLDLs to carry the fat. More LDL pieces become stuck if there are not enough HDLs to rescue them. The blood vessel may become blocked and if this happens in a blood vessel in your heart, a heart attack may result.

“Man alone, of all the creatures on earth, can change his own pattern. Man alone is the architect of his destiny.”