Cholesterol and triglycerides are two forms of lipid, or fat, that circulate in your bloodstream.
They are both necessary for life itself.
So it’s possible for you to’t live without either of these types of lipids.
John E. Kelly / Photolibrary / Getty Images
And this is why you’re gonna wanna be concerned about your lipid levels.
Dietary cholesterol mainly comes fromeating meatsanddairy products.
Triglycerides come from eating extra calories, particularly carbohydrate-rich foods (like sweets).
During times when dietary lipids are not available, your liver itself produces cholesterol and triglycerides.
In fact, about 75% of the cholesterol in your body is manufactured by the liver.
Excess triglycerides those that are not needed immediately for fuel are stored in fat cells for later usage.
It is important to know that many of the fatty acids stored in our bodies originated as dietary carbs.
(This explains why it is easy to become obese even on a low-fat diet.)
The stored fatty acids are split from the triglycerides and burned as fuel during periods of fasting.
Strictly speaking, as any good chemist will tell you, cholesterol is just cholesterol.
One molecule of cholesterol is pretty much the same as another.
So why do doctors talk about good and bad cholesterol?
The answer has to do with lipoproteins.
Lipoproteins.Cholesterol (and triglycerides) are lipids, and therefore do not dissolve in a water medium like blood.
Lipoproteins are soluble in blood, and allow cholesterol and triglycerides to be moved with ease through the bloodstream.
Lipoprotein metabolism is quite complex, and scientists are still working out all the details.
However, most doctors concern themselves with two major types of lipoproteins: LDL and HDL.
LDL cholesterol is often called bad cholesterol.
Elevated levels of LDL cholesterol have been strongly associated with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.
So, an elevated LDL cholesterol level is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.
For this reason, HDL cholesterol is commonly called “good” cholesterol.
reckon it’s the HDL lipoprotein “scours” the walls of blood vessels and removes excess cholesterol.
Several drugs that successfully raise HDL levels have failed to improve cardiac outcomes.
Results like these are forcing experts to revise their thinking about HDL cholesterol.
Some drugs, especially steroids and progesterone, can do the same.
There is no generally accepted triglyceride hypothesis.
Still, there is no question that hypertriglyceridemia is strongly associated with elevated cardiovascular risk.
Furthermore, high triglyceride levels are a prominent feature of several other conditions known to increase cardiac risk.
These include obesity, sedentary lifestyle, smoking, hypothyroidism and especiallymetabolic syndromeand punch in 2 diabetes.
This latter relationship is particularly important.
People with insulin resistance also tend to have hypertension and obesity.
Their overall risk of heart disease and stroke is very high.
Testing
Beginning at age 20, testing for cholesterol and triglycerides is recommended every five years.
And if your lipid levels are found to be elevated, repeat testing should be done yearly.
So when it comes to treating cholesterol and triglycerides, it is important to get it right.
you’re able to read about current thinking onwhen and how treatment for blood lipids should be chosen.
So, let the experts argue about the mechanisms by which cholesterol and triglycerides are associated with heart disease.
You should concentrate on taking the steps proven to lower your own, individual risk.
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