The
primary source of dietary cholesterol is foods of animal origin, with eggs, red
meats, dairy products and prawns very high in cholesterol.
The
main concern is that regardless of the dietary intake of cholesterol, the human
body continues to produce cholesterol every day. The body is in a position to
try to balance the cholesterol it manufactures with what it takes in by means
of food, tending to produce less and to eliminate more in response to a high
cholesterol diet.
In
most cases, healthy people are able to maintain a fairly constant level of
cholesterol in the bloodstream, although this level may go up as a person
advances in age. A diet high in
polyunsaturated fats is normally associated with lower levels of blood
cholesterol, whereas a diet high in saturated fats tends to increase the amount
of blood cholesterol.
Saturated
fats are the main culprit – they are far more potent in raising the blood
cholesterol level than a diet rich in cholesterol itself, for instance, eggs. A
diet high in saturated fats also causes the body to retain cholesterol taken in
the diet. On a diet low in saturated fats, dietary cholesterol has little
effect.
Cholesterol
appears in the fat deposits that form in the linings of the arteries, causing
these arteries to become less elastic. This process is known as atherosclerosis
and takes place gradually in any artery of the body. When these fatty deposits
become heavy and irregular it is known as plaques. These plaques can restrict
or even stop the flow of blood through the arteries or can cause rough spots
that may break loose and form a site for blood clots. When this occurs in one
of the major arteries of the heart, it causes a coronary.
It
must, however, be stressed that diet is not alone in creating a high risk of
heart disease. A person’s heredity, physical activity, smoking habits, body
weight, blood pressure and even a person’s personality may all play a part.
There
are two types of cholesterol-carrying lipoproteins who may either protect the
body against or promote heart disease. Both of these lipoproteins contain
cholesterol but the ‘protective’ higher density ones (HDL) are found in greater
amounts in people who are lean, who exercise, drink moderately and who do not
smoke, while the ‘promoting’ lower
density ones (LDL) are more prevalent in obese people, sedentary people and
people who eat too much fat.
In
high risk people the majority of them have blood cholesterol levels that put
them at risk of heart attack. A change towards a lower-fat, lower-cholesterol
diet is a must. Those with additional risk factors such as a family history of
heart disease, overweight, high blood pressure, smoking or diabetes should cut
down on fats and cholesterol even further.
It
is a proven fact that lowering blood cholesterol will lower the risk of
coronary heart disease.
Danie
