By:

Cholesterol – Biochemistry, forms and its connection with food

January 31, 2021Advices, Articles for nutrition, body, food additives, health, Healthy day

The eternal enemy, cholesterol. We are used to classifying it as good and bad, dangerous and safe, but is it like that, is it different or is it just the same agent whose different conditions in the body indicate other problems?

What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol comes from the Greek chole – bile, stereo – hard, and ol – a chemical suffix for alcoholic compounds. Cholesterol is a fat (also called a lipid) .  It is an organic compound close to fat and a major component of a number of hormones. In addition to hormones, it is also involved in the synthesis of bile acids (which seem to determine its name) and vitamin D.

Cholesterol is a major component in cell membranes and determines their main characteristic – permeability. Like other fatty acids, cholesterol is synthesized from the precursor acetyl CoA. It is chemically synthesized by other carbon precursors. Its standard synthesis in the body from acetyl CoA involves three stages. The formation of cholesterol and its formation of hormone and bile acid derivatives is regulated by a number of problems. The human body has an indisputable need for cholesterol and produces it mainly in the liver and bile (as far as it is part of the hormones, cholesterol is also produced in a number of glands).

Is Cholesterol Dangerous?

In this case, the conclusion is clear. High cholesterol levels are dangerous, but high levels of white blood cells are no safer. Cholesterol in itself is not the enemy. Cholesterol has a “bad” quality, the ability to layer. This quality is among the physiological advantages of the body, but relative to the high concentration in the blood, it leads to layering on the walls of blood vessels and their permanent damage.

Cholesterol synthesis in the cell is a complex process with almost 40 steps, which starts with the enzyme HMG – CoA-reductase. In a person with a body weight of about 70 kg and normal total cholesterol synthesis, its amount is about 1 g (1000 mg) per day, while the total body content is about 35 grams, located mainly within the membranes of all cells of the body. A typical daily dietary intake of supplemental cholesterol for a US resident is 200-300 mg.

Food cholesterol is esterified, and esterified cholesterol is poorly absorbed by the digestive system. The body compensates for any absorption of extra cholesterol by reducing cholesterol synthesis, ie. there is a mechanism of self-regulation of the process. Thus, the effect of eating cholesterol on the blood is minimal, but it does not mean safe.

Shock doses, such as the sudden intake of dozens of egg yolks, can lead to life-threatening conditions, so experiments in this direction are not recommended. Attention to cholesterol in food should also be paid to people who generally have problems with it, as it is clear that the mechanism for maintaining low cholesterol levels after food intake in their case will not be involved.

Dietary cholesterol

Cholesterol is taken up by the body with food. In fact, cholesterol is recyclable in the body. It is best adsorbed by the walls of the small intestine. It is contained mainly in animal foods – meat, eggs, etc., but has a plant analogue.

Plant phytosterols are risky because they are absorbed by the body in the same way, replace cholesterol in the blood, have the same effect on blood vessels, but are not included in the mechanism of self-regulation, ie. the body does not account for them effectively and does not create a good balance for them. The body’s defense against them is usually their return to the intestinal tract. In addition, phytosterols are generally rarely concentrated.

The main sources of cholesterol are fats. However, different fats affect differently, and it has been found, for example, that the two forms of cholesterol – low HDL and high LDL-cholesterol – lead to the risk of cardiovascular disease. For example, trans fats (margarine) have this effect, while unsaturated fatty acids have the opposite effect. However, a study conducted in China also included an unexpected source of changes in cholesterol: milk casein.

The biosynthesis of cholesterol for the needs of the body is directly regulated by the levels of cholesterol in the blood. This is completely “justified” given that cholesterol as part of cell membranes and cell transport is in fact an indirect link in homeostasis. Roughly speaking, the drop in cholesterol facilitates the transport of a specific “monitoring” protein to the Golgi apparatus in the cell, where the protein is broken down and activates cholesterol synthesis, while high levels have a direct inhibitory effect on the main generating agent.

Exactly high levels are interesting in our sport, because it turns out that in practice there is a link between stopping the production of cholesterol and reduced levels of the energy agent adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP could be related to training, although it is not so direct and straightforward that it decreases or increases rapidly. This means: there is an autoregulatory mechanism for cholesterol levels in the body. It is permissible to consider that in problematic patients this type of autoregulation is impaired and therefore food intake is more dangerous for them. But let’s not rush to conclusions.

Cholesterol is poorly soluble in water, which is why it is transported in the blood not dissolved, but as a component of lipoproteins. There are several types of lipoproteins in the blood: chylomicrons, multiple low density lipoproteins (VLDL), intermediate density (IDL), low density lipoproteins (LDL) and high density (HDL). Total cholesterol is defined as the sum of HDL, LDL and VLDL. Usually only total cholesterol, HDL and triglycerides are measured.

LDL molecules are the largest carriers of cholesterol in the blood, each containing about 1,500 molecules of cholesterol ester. Cholesterol is sensitive to oxidation and easily forms oxidized derivatives known as oxysterols. The body seems to use oxysterols as an additional inhibitor of cholesterol synthesis.

Studies

Low cholesterol can also be risky. It turns out that many cancer patients actually maintain low levels of total cholesterol in the blood; a probable cause is probably a protective reaction of the body against the excretion of thrombi (the characteristic “spread” of the tumor in the blood) and probably of cancerous agents in the blood from the tumor itself; additional blockage of blood vessels could be fatal and the body resorted to atypical regulation.

It is statistically true that people over the age of 50, and especially women with persistently low cholesterol, are more likely to die from cancer or an incurable mental illness. The second is probably related to the function of cholesterol in membranes, including nerve cells. In any case, both hypo- and hypercholesterolemia are a subsequent symptom with new risks, rather than a life-threatening condition in itself, which has given rise to more severe phases. They talk about a problem in the body’s balance and is the best reason to start looking immediately.

What about cholesterol and nutrition? We find ourselves in front of the cornerstone of modern medicine. lipid and its relationship to various things, most notably the most discussed of which is nutrition. In practice, there is a huge number of studies and a large number of divergent conclusions. It can be said that lipid has thousands of studies and there are at least two major conflicting groups between them: that cholesterol from food does not affect the blood, and that it affects, both conclusions have modifications, for example for different types of fats.

The reduction of animal fats and the increase of vegetable fats in the diet have an effect on lowering blood cholesterol, but the effect is relatively weak. According to researchers Ramsey and Jackson, an unattractive diet should be used to achieve a truly desirable effect as a result of eating. They study the diet of some African tribes, and although meat and milk are the main source of nutrition for many of them, they have much lower cholesterol than the average American.

A similar study was conducted in Israel by Dr. Harold Kahn, who studied 10,000 male government officials, including those who consumed large amounts of animal products, respectively fat from them, and those who consumed them quite sparingly. The conclusion reached by the doctor is that the level of cholesterol in the blood has no clear direct connection with the consumption of animal fats.

According to another study conducted by Dr. Bruce Griffin, who put a group of people on a diet for 12 weeks, it was shown that daily consumption of 2 eggs in no way increases the levels of bad lipid in the blood. Based on his research, the doctor came to the conclusion that saturated fats in food (mainly in pastries, processed meats, biscuits) are more responsible for raising blood lipid than lipid-rich foods such as eggs.

David Jenkins, head of department at a clinic in Toronto, concludes that a diet with avoidance or limited intake of saturated fat foods is less effective in reducing bad blood lipid than a diet involving a combination of certain foods, leading to the desired effect. These foods, according to Jenkins, include oats, barley, soy, nuts, vegetable oils, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. The doctor states that the closer our diet is to that of a vegetarian, the better results we can achieve in the fight against cholesterol.

According to research by researchers at the University of Connecticut, daily consumption of a few eggs not only can not raise the levels of bad lipid in the blood, but rather helps to increase the good cholesterol in the blood. There is no consensus on the issue of cholesterol and atherosclerosis, but at the present stage, although the relationship has been highly stressed by various scientists and some stakeholders, it continues to be accepted, and not without reason, that there is a connection, even if is not as immediate as previously thought, and that diet is one way to naturally help regulate the problem.

A study conducted by Shekele and others with high scientific value shows a link between dietary fat intake, the assembly of these fats, serum lipid and coronary heart problems. Similar findings were added by Watts and colleagues in a study of patients with coronary heart disease – even a restrictive standard low-fat diet on average has a cholesterol-lowering effect on coronary heart disease.

The University of Oslo added a study of diet and smoking in a fairly large group (over 1,000 people), noting a reduction in lipid . but noting that in fact very few people in the experience actually stopped smoking, in most cases simply reduced cigarettes, and sometimes failed to do so.

The conclusions

A mechanism for the absorption of fats such as cholesterol from food exists, there is also a mechanism for its formation, which naturally occurs with food intake. So it’s too early to cut a potential diet-cholesterol link as non-existent. It should be borne in mind that there is both a very likely primary and a secondary link between lipid and nutrition. Medical experiments show that lipid biosynthesis accelerates or slows down depending on the diet. So I don’t think the potential, especially the long-term danger, should be taken lightly.

There is another point. We have all heard of deaths from overeating, for example with eggs. But lipid, like anything in the body, has a balance. One is the danger of food lipid in a person with impaired lipid metabolism and regulation and coronary problems, another – in a young athlete. It is quite possible for the body and enzymes to adapt to lipid like any other food. That is, if you eat cholesterol-forming foods for a very long time, it is possible that your body has even adjusted and its tolerance is higher than that of a normal person, let alone a sick person.

But medicine here is in the role of “good King Solomon.” There is no denying the existence of any link between diet, fat intake and blood lipid. It is different for everyone, perhaps, but the common denominator is that for patients this risk is no longer acceptable. It is statistical and can bypass them, but heart problems do not just go away. Therefore, medicine recommends abstinence in various cases.

Should you also abstain, is it necessary – judge for yourself, the connection is not direct, it is difficult to prove and goes through to prove that dietary cholesterol becomes dangerous lipid in the blood and that high cholesterol in the blood generally damages healthy blood vessels. . There are definitely questions, but excessive heroism is at least pointless, isn’t it? Still, don’t become hypochondriac. Indeed, the effects of eating are not life-threatening and you cannot weigh every potential food hazard. Just anticipate this if you are a supporter of greater extremes in sports.

Sources used:

People also look for  :

Endorphins – The Strongest Natural ”Medicine” In the Human Body

Top 10 Scientifically proven herbal Aphrodisiacs Do they work?

Yohimbine – natural energy from the dark continent

Phenylethylamine – Happiness , Love and more

Related Posts