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What is Cholesterol?

Cholesterol can be defined as a natural chemical substance, which is also termed as “fat”. Cholesterol is an oily or greasy steroid, which is a vital structural element of any mammalian cell membrane that helps the membrane to determine appropriate membrane liquidity and permeability. Cholesterol is synthesized in mammalian liver and is the main source, which enhances the production of bile acids, steroids, hormones and vitamins. The term “cholesterol” originates from Greek and is split as “chole”, “stereos” and “ol” to describe its chemical composition. “Chole” refers to bile, “stereos” is hard solid and “ol” implies alcohol. Other than mammalian cells, cholesterol is also generated in some eukaryotic plants and fungi. In contrast, cholesterol is not present in prokaryotic organisms. Cholesterol, like sugar and salt should be present in certain amounts only, lower or higher levels can lead to mental depression or heart diseases respectively.

What are the types of Cholesterol?

There are two major types of cholesterol namely High Density Lipoproteins and Low Density Lipoproteins. High Density Lipoprotein is the good cholesterol that is good pertaining to heart disease threats, while Low Density Lipoprotein is bad cholesterol. Triglycerides are also fats or lipids in the blood that are generated in the liver but are majorly absorbed from the fat contents in our diet, high amounts of triglycerides can also lead to heart diseases.

What is an ideal cholesterol level?

The level of good and bad cholesterol together should not be less than 140 mg/dl.

• HDL level could be within 40 and 60 mg/dl
• LDL level should be within 100 mg/dl
• Total Cholesterol [HDL+LDL] should be within 180 and 220 mg/dl
• Triglyceride should be less than 150 mg/dl

The level of cholesterol can be checked by performing cholesterol test with blood samples.

How to do Cholesterol Test?

Cholesterol level is checked by performing laboratory tests called “lipid profile test” on blood samples taken from the patient after twelve hours of fasting. Cholesterol test can be done at home, and also with a cholesterol monitoring apparatus called the “home cholesterol testing kit”. The results obtained from these devices are not always accurate and reliable. Therefore, it is always best to do your cholesterol test at a trustworthy laboratory.

What are High Cholesterol Symptoms?

High levels of cholesterol in blood can lead to heart ailments, strokes and blocks in arteries. The high cholesterol level makes the blood thicker and hence, makes it difficult for the heart to pump blood, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes. The fat gets accumulated in the arteries and thus, makes the artery passage harder and thinner, which is medically termed as “atherosclerosis”. High cholesterol and high insulin contents can complement each other hence high glycerol can lead to diabetic complications.

What are Low Cholesterol Symptoms?

Low cholesterol has more adverse effect than high cholesterol. In addition to heart ailments and strokes like that of high cholesterol, low cholesterol can lead to mental disorders, hypertension, depression and vitamin deficiencies leading to cancerous growth.