Fifty percent of all men and women will die of coronary heart disease (CHD), and elevated cholesterol levels are the major cause. CHD is mainly a lifestyle disease, and lifestyles can be changed. There is absolutely no reason for anyone to have a cholesterol problem given what we currently know about diet, nutrition and healthy living.
Apart from being the #1 killer of both men and women in North America, CHD is a condition caused by a narrowing of coronary arteries (tubes that act as passageways in and out of the heart), which blocks the supply of oxygen and nutrients (carried in the blood) to the heart. Everybody has heard about "hardening of the arteries," which basically means that the arteries become clogged with cholesterol and fat deposits until blood flow is reduced or stopped. This is also called atherosclerosis. It happens slowly and quietly, and there are no symptoms. The first sign of it is usually a heart attack or stroke, at which time it is often too late.
Cholesterol is a waxy substance found only in animals or animal products (like meat, cheese and eggs). It is actually manufactured inside our bodies. The liver takes some of the fat and cholesterol we eat and makes it into our own cholesterol, then ships it throughout the body. Cholesterol is part of the family of lipids, or fats, which includes certain "fatty acids," or triglycerides. The liver wraps up its cholesterol and triglyercides in proteins to form little transportation molecules and sends them out into the bloodstream. These transportation molecules are called lipoproteins (lipids and protein).
The main ones that concern us are low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL).
