Unhealthy lifestyles have made the cholesterol as the enemy of man. Yet, these substances beneficial for the brain and liver, and neural networks that exist in the human body. In fact, cholesterol plays a role in the formation of sex hormones.

Hearing the word cholesterol, our minds most certainly directed to the disease of death such as heart disease, stroke, and so forth. Opinion is increasingly shaped by the many advertisements of food products which gives the lure of "free cholesterol".

Excessive exposure, suggesting that cholesterol is a great enemy to human health. Really dangerous cholesterol?

Judging from history, cholesterol does give a bad record for the medical world. In 1908, experts have found that guinea pigs that were fed meat, dairy fat, and eggs will experience excessive fatty deposits on the walls of the arteries (blood vessels).

This causes blood vessels become narrower, known as atherosclerosis. The process lasts very long and is the forerunner of stroke and heart attack. In 1913, several experts to formulate that the deposition of fat is cholesterol.

In 1916, Cornelius de Langen, a Dutch doctor who was working in Indonesia, found that the number of Indonesian indigenous people who suffer from heart disease is lower compared to Dutch people who lived in Indonesia.


He made the speculation that a low cholesterol content among the people of Indonesia caused a diet that contains more elements of plants, rather than Dutch people who prefer meat and other animal foods.
At the end of World War II, research experts in Scandinavia found that deaths from heart disease dropped dramatically during the war. This was due to lower consumption of meat, milk, and eggs.

Currently, the scientists found that people who suffer from heart disease, generally have higher cholesterol levels than healthy people.


In developed countries the consumption of high cholesterol (such as the United States), heart disease is one of the main causes of death. Report of the American Heart Association (AHA) says that more than 100 million adults in the U.S. have cholesterol levels above average, and 40 million of them have very high cholesterol levels. The condition causes the death rate from heart disease and stroke to reach 500,000 people every year. In 1976, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that calcification of the heart due to cholesterol a person has experienced since the age of 20 years. Calcification is getting thicker by 3 percent each year.

Viewing the facts above, not surprisingly, many people identify cholesterol as something that is harmful to human health, although this opinion is not entirely correct. This paper will provide balanced information about the positive and negative effects of cholesterol.

Formed in the Body

Is it true cholesterol? Cholesterol is a typical product of animal metabolism results. Cholesterol is found only in foods of animal origin such as meat, fish, eggs, milk, brain, and viscera. Judging from its chemical structure, cholesterol is a steroid group, which is a substance included in the group of lipids.

In humans, cholesterol itself can be synthesized in the body, namely in the liver, cortex, adrenal, skin, intestine, testis, stomach, muscle, adipose tissue, and brain. Approximately 17 percent of the dry weight of the brain composed of cholesterol. Thus, no cholesterol, brain structure can not be formed perfectly.

Although considered to be dangerous, cholesterol is still needed by the body. The average human takes 1100 milligrams of cholesterol per day to maintain cell walls and other physiological functions. Of these 25-40 percent (200-300 mg) are normally derived from food and the rest is synthesized by the body.

If the amount of cholesterol in the body is less, the synthesis of cholesterol in the liver and intestine increased to meet the needs of other tissues and organs. Conversely, if the amount of cholesterol in the diet increases, the synthesis of cholesterol in the liver and intestine decreased.

Although the body can synthesize cholesterol requirement, cholesterol from food plays an important role because it is a major sterol in the human body, as well as components of the cell surface and intracellular membranes.

Research in mice showed, if there is only 0.05 percent of cholesterol in the diet, 70-80 percent of cholesterol the body will be synthesized in the liver, small intestine, and adrenal glands. If the content of cholesterol in the diet rose to 2 percent, kolsterol biosynthesis in the body decreased to 10-30 percent.

Cholesterol the body needs, among others, in the synthesis of bile acids needed for digestion of fat or oil, vitamin D synthesis, and as a component of cell membranes. Cholesterol has a very important role in the body because not only cell membranes, but also other common biosynthetic precursor, including sex hormones and bile acids.

Cholesterol is a precursor of bile acids expenditures that are synthesized in the liver and serves to absorb triglycerides (triasilogliserol) and fat soluble vitamins from food, as well as the precursor of steorid hormone, estrogen, and testosterone.

Another role of cholesterol, which helps nerve cells function. When no cholesterol, coordination of gestures and speech will be disrupted.

Types of Cholesterol

When the body in good health and normal food consumption, body tends to maintain the balance of cholesterol. Diasup and synthesized cholesterol is converted into body tissue, hormones, and vitamins that are then circulated into the body via the blood.

Cholesterol can not dissolve in blood. To be transported in the bloodstream, cholesterol along with other fats (triglycerides and phospholipids) must bind to proteins to form insoluble compounds, namely lipoprotein.

Chylomicrons is a lipoprotein that transports fat to the liver. In the liver, fat ties will be outlined, so that the element is formed back fat. Fatty acids that form will be used as an energy source or if the amount of excess will be stored in fatty tissue.

When cholesterol intake is inadequate, the liver cells will produce it. From the liver, cholesterol is transported by a lipoprotein called LDL (low density lipoprotein) to be brought into the body cells that need it, including the heart muscle cells, brain, etc. in order to function properly.

Excess cholesterol will be transported back by lipoproteins called HDL (high density lipoprotein) to take to heart and it will be broken down and thrown into the gall bladder as a bile acid.

LDL contains more fat than the HDL, so it will float in the blood. The main proteins that form of LDL is apo-B (apolipoprotein-B). LDL is considered bad fats because it can cause the attachment of cholesterol in blood vessel walls.

LDL cholesterol is the largest carrier, which is about 60 percent of total plasma cholesterol. Although often referred to as bad cholesterol, LDL has an important role, namely to bring sterols into peripheral tissues and used for the construction of membrane or to the formation of steroid hormones.

HDL is the lipoprotein particles are dense and small, disintetis in liver and intestine. HDL is often referred to as good fats because of the operation he was clearing excess cholesterol from the blood vessel wall to transport it back to the liver. It is believed to be the main mechanism of HDL in protecting blood vessels against atherosclerosis.

These good fats can remove cholesterol from foam cells in wounds ateroklerosis or modifications to protect LDL from oxidation. The low levels of HDL in the plasma will increase the risk of coronary heart disease. The main proteins that form of HDL is Apo-A (apolipoprotein).

HDL has less fat content and high density or heavier.