According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Cholesterol is a sterol (a combination steroid and alcohol) and a lipid found in the cell membranes of all body tissues, and transported in the blood plasma of all animals.
This is a really nice definition for doctors and scientists but for us mere mortals, cholesterol is a fatty substance which can block your arteries when present in high levels in the blood. This can eventually lead to cardiovascular problems like high blood pressure, heart-attack and stroke.
What a lot of people don't know is that cholesterol is not all bad! Among other things it is required to keep the cell membranes healthy; helps in the metabolism of certain vitamins such as A, K and E (for example) and believe it or not, it is also associated with the production of various hormones including the sex hormones progesterone, estrogen and testosterone (thought that would get your attention)!
The problem with cholesterol is that it can be both good and bad. You've probably have heard your friends, relatives and doctors refer to "good cholesterol"and "bad cholesterol".
The medical term for "Good cholesterol" is high-density lipoprotein (HDL). The "Bad" guy is referred to as low-density lipoprotein (LDL). What people don't realize is that we need both - but the balance must be right!
Another component of cholesterol is tryglycerides. These are fats carried in the blood. The fat comes from all that food we eat and eventually gets stored in the fat cells of our bodies!
So it's important that you learn about cholesterol, what it is and is, how it affects your health. You must also learn how to manage your blood cholesterol levels so that you can keep your arteries clean so that the blood can flow without obstruction.
Once you understand the facts about cholesterol you will keep your cardiovascular system healthy, reducing your risk for stroke, heart attack and high blood pressure.
There are natural products that can be used to maintain your cholesterol levels. I will tell you about them later in another segment.
To your natural health!