Cholesterol
has got a bad reputation since its high levels have been linked to the onset of
cardiovascular diseases.
Anyway
cholesterol is crucial for us. In fact it is an essential structural component
of the cell membranes (of any single cell of our body) and is a precursor for
the synthesis of bile acids, steroid hormones, and vitamin D. On the other
side, high levels of “bad” cholesterol (the one associated with LDL) could be
detrimental to us, since they could be responsible for atherosclerosis (causing
stroke or heart attack) or deregulation of metabolic functions (leading to
diabetes).
How can we
reduce (or prevent) the abnormal accumulation of cholesterol?
We need to
keep in mind that our body has been programmed to minimize the loss of cholesterol,
and the only mechanism we possess for its reduction is through the intestinal
secretion of bile acids. Moreover we need to consider that cholesterol can either
have a dietary origin (exogenous cholesterol) or can be synthesized by our body
(endogenous cholesterol). Therefore to reduce its amount we need to adopt two
complementary approaches: reduction of dietary cholesterol uptake and decrease
of production of endogenous cholesterol.
Cholesterol
is essentially of animal origin, therefore is necessary to reduce the amount of
food of animal origin. But this is not enough. Even an excessive amount of
carbohydrates (these are generally present in plant origin foods) can increase
the endogenous production of cholesterol.
In summary
if you have high accumulation of cholesterol you need to eat less and reduce both
carb-rich foods and animal fats. If you do some physical exercises is even
better.
Thank you.
Take care
Ciao
