High Cholesterol

CHOLESTEROL : C₂₉H₅₀O

CHOLESTEROL FACTS

CHEMICAL FORMULA AND NAME:	C₂₆H₄₄O; (3.beta.)-Cholest-5-en-3-ol; cholesterin.
DESCRIPTION:	an unsaturated alcohol, a waxy solid at room temperature
MOLECULAR WEIGHT:	386.66
FOODS WITH NO CHOLESTEROL:	any foods of plant origin, e.g. fruits, vegetables, grains
FOODS THAT CONTAIN CHOLESTEROL:	animal body tissues, particularly the brain, spinal cord; animal fats or oils. Foods of animal origin, e.g. meats, dairy products, lard, shortening

High Cholesterol (Hypercholesterolemia)

What is high cholesterol?

    Cholesterol is a waxy substance found only in foods that come from animals. It is also manufactured by the body in the liver. You need small amounts of cholesterol to make and maintain nerve cells and to manufacture natural hormones.
    When you have too much cholesterol in your bloodstream it is called hypercholesterolemia, or high cholesterol. Hypercholesterolemia increases your risk of heart disease.
    The two most important components of cholesterol are low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the so-called "bad" cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL), the "good" cholesterol. The goal of most cholesterol treatment is to decrease the LDL in your blood and to raise the HDL.

Then relevant question you should ask ?.....

How does high cholesterol occur ?
What are the symptoms?
How is it diagnosed?
Why is it important to treat Hypercholesterolemia ?
How is it treated?
How to avoid Hypercholesterolemia ?

How does high cholesterol occur?
The most common cause of high cholesterol is eating foods that are high in saturated fat or cholesterol. Other possible causes are:

an inherited disorder in which cholesterol is not metabolized properly by the body
a disease that raises the cholesterol level (for example, diabetes mellitus, kidney disease, liver disease, or hypothyroidism).

Excess cholesterol causes deposits to form inside blood vessels. These deposits, called plaque, are made of fats carried by the bloodstream. Atherosclerosis, a condition in which blood vessels become hardened and narrowed by the fatty deposits, may result. Atherosclerosis causes decreased blood flow. Blood clots may form in these narrowed vessels and totally stop blood flow. When this happens in the heart it causes a heart attack. Atherosclerosis causes more deaths from heart disease than any other single condition.

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