Types of Cholesterol, What Are They Talking About?
It seems whether you’re reading a magazine, watching the news, or just out to lunch with a coworker, everyone is talking about “good” cholesterol and “bad” cholesterol. What exactly does this cholesterol differentiation mean to someone who is not a doctor? Naming the two types of cholesterol in such obvious terms is the easiest way to communicate to most people if they are on the path for some type of heart disease. The “good” cholesterol, High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL), is labeled so due to its ability to clear the “bad” cholesterol, Low-density Lipoprotein (LDL), from the blood and transport it into the liver where it can be reused by the body. LDL is essential for the body in small amounts, since this is the type of cholesterol that helps repair the body when it is lightly damaged, such as after acute bouts of exercise. Arteries, especially those that feed the brain and the heart with oxygen and other nutrients, are greatly affected by high cholesterol levels because of their small
