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There is only one chemical entity called cholesterol. More formally known as (3β)-cholest-5-en-3-ol. Different dietary fats (or other constituents) may play a r

There is only one chemical entity called cholesterol. More formally known as (3β)-cholest-5-en-3-ol. Different dietary fats (or other constituents) may play a role in the blood levels of the different _lipoproteins_, such as HDL and LDL.

vanderZwan 8y ago
Nitpick all you want, but this misses the forest for the trees. When we talk about health and cholesterol levels, it is almost always in the context of lowering LDL and increasing HDL. Even Center for Disease Control and Prevention calls them "cholesterols" because that currently is the public understanding of how it affects their health: > Cholesterol travels through the blood on proteins called “lipoproteins.” Two types of lipoproteins carry cholesterol throughout the body: > LDL (low-density lipoprotein), sometimes called “bad” cholesterol, makes up most of your body’s cholesterol. High levels of LDL cholesterol raise your risk for heart disease and stroke. > HDL (high-density lipoprotein), or “good” cholesterol, absorbs cholesterol and carries it back to the liver. The liver then flushes it from the body. High levels of HDL cholesterol can lower your risk for heart disease and stroke. https://www.cdc.gov/cholesterol/ldl_hdl.htm https://www.cdc.gov/cholesterol/ldl_hdl.htm
- sharph 8y ago
  Except that when you eat cholesterol, it is digested and absorbed from the food as cholesterol, not lipoproteins. So it's really silly to say there's "bad" or "good" cholesterol in food. The main purpose of lipoproteins such as LDL and HDL is to carry fatty fuel around the body. Cholesterol just gets a ride-share along with the fat since it is not water (and by extension blood) soluble. And the thing that makes levels of HDL and LDL in the blood "bad" has more to do with high blood sugar messing up the lipoproteins' ability to identify itself to the liver (search oxidation & glycation of lipoproteins) which causes excess levels in the blood, than it has to do with cholesterol. IMO the focus on cholesterol (edit: as the source of disease) in popular science and medicine has been a huge mistake.

vanderZwan 8y ago

Nitpick all you want, but this misses the forest for the trees. When we talk about health and cholesterol levels, it is almost always in the context of lowering LDL and increasing HDL. Even Center for Disease Control and Prevention calls them "cholesterols" because that currently is the public understanding of how it affects their health: > Cholesterol travels through the blood on proteins called “lipoproteins.” Two types of lipoproteins carry cholesterol throughout the body: > LDL (low-density lipoprotein), sometimes called “bad” cholesterol, makes up most of your body’s cholesterol. High levels of LDL cholesterol raise your risk for heart disease and stroke. > HDL (high-density lipoprotein), or “good” cholesterol, absorbs cholesterol and carries it back to the liver. The liver then flushes it from the body. High levels of HDL cholesterol can lower your risk for heart disease and stroke. https://www.cdc.gov/cholesterol/ldl_hdl.htm https://www.cdc.gov/cholesterol/ldl_hdl.htm

sharph 8y ago
Except that when you eat cholesterol, it is digested and absorbed from the food as cholesterol, not lipoproteins. So it's really silly to say there's "bad" or "good" cholesterol in food. The main purpose of lipoproteins such as LDL and HDL is to carry fatty fuel around the body. Cholesterol just gets a ride-share along with the fat since it is not water (and by extension blood) soluble. And the thing that makes levels of HDL and LDL in the blood "bad" has more to do with high blood sugar messing up the lipoproteins' ability to identify itself to the liver (search oxidation & glycation of lipoproteins) which causes excess levels in the blood, than it has to do with cholesterol. IMO the focus on cholesterol (edit: as the source of disease) in popular science and medicine has been a huge mistake.