Cholesterol, Health, Wealth And Nutrition

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• Nutrition That Keep You Alive
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• Forbidden Foods, Are You Eating Them?

Cholesterol, HDL, and LDL are three terms that many people are confused with. HDL and LDL are many time called Cholesterol. Are there differences? If so what are they? How this information impacts our health?

Cholesterol

Chole (bile) stereos (solids) ol (alcohol) is the origin of the derivative, Cholesterol, which is a crystalline organic chemical substance technically classified as a waxy steroid having the chemical formula C27H45OH and is represented with a "C". By itself, Cholesterol is not fat but is soluble in fats even as vitamin A, D, E or K are. Being soluble in fats, rather than in water, it is also classified as a lipid, as fats are. The liver, intestine, adrenal glands and reproductive organs, primarily produce approximately 80% of the total body cholesterol that is in the blood, utilizing approximately a thirty-seven step process. Cholesterol is essential for the building of membranes, proper membrane permeability, the skin’s ability to produce vitamin D, the production of nerve fibres, sex hormones, bile acid, digestive hormones, other hormones, and their derivatives, and thus is necessary for the proper functioning of the entire body.

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Lipoproteins

HDL and LDL stand for high-density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein, respectively. Lipoprotein has an exterior composed of amphiphilic proteins and lipids, whose outward-facing surfaces are water-soluble and inward-facing surfaces are lipid-soluble. Triglycerides and cholesterol esters are carried internally, while phospholipids and none-esterified cholesterol are transported within their surface.

These unique proteins transport the fat-soluble cholesterol to body tissues for utilization. Other lipoproteins transport excess cholesterol unused by these tissues to be excreted or recycled. Even though some cholesterol is conveyed as fatty esterified cholesterol while others transport as alcohol, all are identical.

Despite the presence of several categories of lipoproteins, there are three popular categories. They are LDL and HDL – the third being the Very high-density Lipoprotein (VHDL) produced by the liver. In addition to these are the chylomicrons and the intermediate-density lipoprotein (IDL). The chylomicrons are the least dense, and the low-density lipoprotein is the densest. Less dense lipoproteins have more lipids and less protein. Different lipoproteins contain apolipoproteins (a protein that combines with a lipid to form a constituent of lipoprotein) that serve as ligands for specific receptors on cell membranes, hence determining the starting and ending point of the cholesterol transported.

Chylomicron is involved in transporting fats from the intestine to muscles and other tissues that need fatty acids for energy or fat production.

As the intermediate-density lipoprotein (IDL) molecules travel in the bloodstream, they supply the blood vessels with cholesterol-loaded triacylglycerol. The IDL molecules not taken up by low-density lipoprotein receptors continue to lose triacylglycerols into the bloodstream until they form low-density lipoprotein molecules. Low-density lipoproteins have the highest percentage of cholesterol within them and thus the primary carriers of cholesterol in the blood.

The very low-density lipoprotein carries excess triacylglycerol and cholesterol not utilized by the liver for bile acids production. Apolipoprotein of low-density lipoprotein binds with receptors then goes through a process resulting in cholesterol esters used for membrane biosynthesis or become esterified and stored within a protective cell.

The same protein that regulates cholesterol in response to sufficient in the cells regulates the low-density lipoprotein synthesis. When there is enough cholesterol in the cells, low-density lipoprotein receptor synthesis is blocked to stop new cholesterol uptake. Conversely, a deficiency of cholesterol prompts the synthesis of more low-density lipoprotein receptors.

The liver synthesizes high-density lipoproteins as complexes of apolipoproteins and phospholipids resembling cholesterol-free flattened spherical lipoprotein particles. These lipoproteins can collect cholesterol from cells utilizing an enzyme that converts the free cholesterol into cholesteryl ester, which isolates into the core of the newly synthesized high-density lipoprotein, making it spherical. As the high-density lipoproteins circulate through the bloodstream, they collect cholesterol and phospholipid molecules from cells and other lipoproteins, thus increasing in size. 

The cholesterol collect is transported mainly to the liver for excretion into the bile. The bile converts the cholesterol into bile acid then sends it to the intestine. High-density lipoproteins also transport cholesterol to other organs, such as the adrenals, ovary, and testes for hormone synthesis. A small portion of the cholesterol secreted into the digestive tract is reabsorbed into the blood. Several steps in the metabolism of high-density lipoprotein contribute to cholesterol transportation from foam cells to the liver. 

This serves as a protection against atherosclerosis. In addition, high-density lipoprotein carries several proteins, which have low concentrations but are biologically very active. For example, high-density lipoproteins and their protein and lipid constituents help inhibit oxidation, inflammation, activation of the endothelium, coagulation, and platelet aggregation. All these properties may attribute to its ability to protect from atherosclerosis. With such organized system, what could go wrong? What causes a malfunction of this system results in many low-density lipoprotein molecules without receptors on their peripheral tissues accumulating in the blood? Read more about this subject in the book, Forbidden Foods: Are you Eating Them? available in kindle and paperback formats on Amazon.

Products Of Cholesterol

Bile, which is stored in the gallbladder, is in the liver synthesized from cholesterol. Bile contains bile salts, which solubilize fats in the digestive tract, thus aid in the absorption of fat molecules as well as fat-soluble vitamins, A, D, E and K. In addition to being a very important precursor for the synthesis of vitamin D and bone density, it is also very important for the synthesis of steroid hormones such as adrenal gland hormones, cortisol and aldosterone. These hormones affect the metabolism of carbohydrate, protein, minerals, and fats; regulate the retention of salt and water; the maturation of white blood cells; the activity of nervous system and the regulation of blood pressure. Among the steroid hormones that cholesterol is important for their production, are sex hormones such as progesterone, estrogens, and testosterone and their derivatives, just to name a few of its functions. Some research even indicates that cholesterol acts as an antioxidant. The problem is usually when there is not sufficient lipoprotein to transport cholesterol or any other maladies that inhibit normal coordinating functions.

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