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What is Cholesterol and How Does Policosanol Help It? |
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Policosanol, Cholesterol and how its tied together
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Darrell Miller | 01/27/11 |
Date:
January 27, 2011 10:44 AM
Author: Darrell Miller
(dm@vitanetonline.com)
Subject: Policosanol, Cholesterol and how its tied together
Cholesterol is a fatty substance that is essential to your health! If that sounds contrary to what you have been hearing about cholesterol, then you don't have all the information. Cholesterol is essential for the synthesis of hormones in your body, including the steroidal hormones such as the sex hormones and those that regulate your blood sugar. So you cannot afford to eliminate all cholesterol. However, you can reduce it, and you can also take steps to reduce the problems that cholesterol can cause.
You have likely heard of LDL (bad) and HDL (good) cholesterol - there is no such thing as bad or good cholesterol. Without 'bad' cholesterol you would not be alive! However, cholesterol is not soluble in water, so cannot pass round your bloodstream by itself. LDL stands for Low Density Lipid, which is a fatty substance that can attach to cholesterol and act as a type of ferry, to carry it around your blood.
The problem is that LDL is easily oxidized by the free radicals formed by your metabolism and breathing in traffic and industrial emissions. This causes it to release the cholesterol that then sinks and deposits as a plaque on the inside of your arteries, eventually blocking them and causing strokes and heart attacks. The HDL cholesterol is responsible for carrying the unused cholesterol back to your liver, so does not block your arteries.
Policosanol can reduce the amount of LDL cholesterol while still maintaining sufficient for your needs. It can also increase the HDL cholesterol: if more High Density Lipids that are not oxidized are available, then more cholesterol can be carried by them, and also possibly reduce the plaque build-up. This is what policosanol does: it reduces LDL and increases HDL cholesterol.
