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LDL cholesterol

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
cholesterol /cho·les·ter·ol/ (kah-les´ter-ol) a eukaryotic sterol that in higher animals is the precursor of bile acids and steroid hormones and a key constituent of cell membranes. Most is synthesized by the liver and other tissues, but some is absorbed from dietary sources, with each kind transported in the plasma by specific lipoproteins. It can accumulate or deposit abnormally, as in some gallstones and in atheromas. Preparations are used as emulsfiers in pharmaceuticals.
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Structure and metabolism of cholesterol.

HDL cholesterol , high-density–lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) the serum cholesterol carried on high-density lipoproteins, approximately 20 to 30 per cent of the total.
LDL cholesterol , low-density–lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) the serum cholesterol carried on low-density lipoproteins, approximately 60 to 70 per cent of the total.

LDL cholesterol

LDL Cholesterol
Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol is the primary cholesterol molecule. High levels of LDL increase the risk of coronary heart disease. LDL is nicknamed "bad" cholesterol.

LDL cholesterol
Bad cholesterol Cholesterol carried by LDL which, when elevated, is a major risk factor for ASHD. See HDL/LDL ratio. Cf HDL-cholesterol.

Patient discussion about LDL cholesterol.

Q. Does wight loss lowers cholesterol? I'm 5'5, 175 lbs, 40 years-old man. After my doctor found that I have high LDL cholesterol, I was advised to try to lower my weight in order to reduce my cholesterol levels. Otherwise I'll have to start taking medications. Can it really do something? As far as I know, cholesterol level are pretty much a genetic thing, and one can be very thin but still have high cholesterol levels.

A. Your doctor isn't totally wrong. Cholesterol levels, as many other things are influenced both by genetic and non-genetic (e.g. diet, physical exercise) factors. Changing your life style (mainly changing your diet and starting regular daily exercise) can lower your cholesterol level, and if it's not too high to save you from the need to take meds, at least currently.

Your genetics does influence your cholesterol, but it's not a pre-determined thing.

Read more or ask a question about LDL cholesterol


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Both groups lost weight and had lower blood total and LDL cholesterol levels.
When too much LDL cholesterol circulates in the blood, it can slowly build up in the inner walls of the arteries that feed the heart and brain and form a hard deposit that can clog those arteries.
A recent study by scientists at the Institute for Aging Research at Albert Einstein School of Medicine in New York City found that many centenarians (100-year-olds) carry an inherited ability to produce larger particles of LDL cholesterol.
 
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