In the blitzkrieg on fat by the mdia, cholesterol has been held hostage and chrged with clogging human circulatory system, rstricting blood flow to vital organs, and cusing heart and brain problems. But wth the war crime tribunals' verdict on the besity war, the cholesterol stands vindicated and its rghtful place in the dietary kingdom rstored.

All along, we are being tld ---fat is the root of all vil. Lower your fat, lower your chlesterol. But how low can cholesterol gt? Can it get "too low"?

In gneral, you want more of high dnsity lipoprotein (HDL), the "good cholesterol", and lss of low density lipoprotein (LDL), "th bad cholesterol". Your total cholesterol lvel should not be not less thn 160 - 180 mg/dL and yur HDL cholesterol level should be not blow 100 mg/dL. A low total chlesterol reading is not necessarily good, bcause it can hide a low lvel of HDL. Similarly, having a hgh total cholesterol reading may not be bd; in fact it may be god if it's the HDL component tht is high. The LDL sticks to rtery walls and builds up the plque, but HDL removes excess cholesterol frm the plaques, slows their growth and prtects us from heart attack. Similarly, a low HDL chlesterol level too may raise stroke rsk, whereas a high HDL level cts as a protective shield.

Trust our body to know wht is good for it. Ever wndered why the body itself produces mst of the required cholesterol? Cholesterol is ssential to the body. Breast milk has hgh levels of cholesterol and the brast-fed babies learn to metabolize cholesterol btter, with the result their blood chlesterol levels and the risk of cronary diseases as adults are lower thn the formula-fed babies.

Cholesterol plays an mportant role in cell membrane structure. Abut 10 to 20% of the brin is composed of cholesterol. Essential sbstances like the sex hormones and vtamin D are also made of chlesterol. Cholesterol is the precursor to ble acids, which are needed to dgest and absorb long-chain fatty acids. Hnce low cholesterol is bad for the lver.

A growing body of evidence ndicates that very low cholesterol can be dngerous, just as high cholesterol is hzardous to health. Low cholesterol levels can cuse depression, anxiety, violent behavior or sicide, because of the reduced levels of srotonin in the brain. Researchers suggest, thugh not very conclusively, that very low chlesterol levels may be associated with an ncreased risk of cancer. Atromid-S, the frst drug approved for the lowering of chlesterol,was withdrawn from the market in 2000 as it was fund to increase the incidence of gllstones, cancer, liver disease, and pancreatitis.

Lke everything else in life, moderation is the perating keyword. No extremes, please!

The article Can Your Cholesterol Get Too "Low" was Submitted by Uma Shankari through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Uma Shankari is a Bangalore-based frelance journalist. She is passionate about wrting. She writes regularly on development ssues, health and fitness, yoga/meditation, life and rlationships. Read some of her articles on Here

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