至尊英语阅读资料之健康与卫生专题第226集.pdfVIP

health articles 226 [5626]Cholesterol the Good, the Bad… and Trans-fat If high cholesterol is so bad for us then why are low-fat, low cholesterol diets so difficult to stick to? After all we wouldnt stick our hands into an open flame, yet from the various reports and statements of health experts, youd think that eating cholesterol is just as dangerous. So why do our bodies “betray” us by constantly craving fats? The simple fact of the matter is that our body needs fat, and especially cholesterol, to function properly. Not only that, but our body actually makes cholesterol for a number of important bodily functions such as repair of damaged cell membranes, production of hormones, and digestion of fats. So why the constant pushing of this or that natural remedy for high cholesterol? The fact is that high blood cholesterol, or hypercholesterolemia, can cause a number of heart diseases, and can lead to heart attack, or stroke. But even here there is more to it: in fact there is “good cholesterol” and “bad cholesterol.” It is the ratio of these two types of cholesterol that is important. The Good: High - Density Lipoproteins (HDLs) As mentioned before, cholesterol is important for a number of metabolic functions, and especially for the repair of damaged cells. For this reason, it is important to have a constant level of cholesterol in our blood stream, so that it can be used wherever it is needed. HDLs are responsible for removing cholesterol from the bloodstream and delivering it to the cells that need them. Thats good cholesterol! The Bad: Low - Density Lipoproteins (LDLs) If HDLs are the “removal trucks” of cholesterol, removing it from the blood, then low-density lipoproteins are the “dumpsters.” They are responsible for taking cholesterol from the places in our body it is made, and dumping it in our bloodstream. This is not necessarily bad; as already mentioned, we need cholesterol in our blood so that it is ava