How to Lower Cholesterol Naturally - Not too Low Not too High!

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by: Meng
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Cholesterol, and how bad it is for you, has been big news lately. Whether it is the surge of lower fat and lower cholesterol diet products or the scare of heart disease and other complications, more and more people are starting to wonder whether their cholesterol levels are low enough. However, cholesterol is more than just a bad guy in the diet world.

All the bad presses on cholesterol are easily available, centering around the subject of being the culprit of clogging our arteries and triggering heart attack, stroke and other cholesterol related conditions. In our pursuit to bring cholesterol level down, will it ever be too low for our own good ?

The total cholesterol in the body is the combination of both good and bad cholesterol. The high density lipoprotein, HDL, is the good cholesterol and the low density lipoprotein, LDL, is the bad cholesterol. The total cholesterol should not be less then 160mg/DL and the good cholesterol should be above 100mg/DL.

LDL cholesterol is the one that clogs your arteries by forming plaque along the arterial walls. HDL cholesterol actually fights plaque by removing excess cholesterol and carrying it to the liver where it it can be eliminated.

It is important to know what made up the total cholesterol level in the body. If the high total cholesterol level comprise of high HDL cholesterol, it is relatively healthier then a person who has lower total cholesterol level but mostly LDL cholesterol.

The fact is our body needs the cholesterol to maintain proper production of hormones and cell membrane. The fact is also that our liver produces and eliminate cholesterol. We need cholesterol from birth and one major source of cholesterol then is breast milk. Breast fed babies tend to have higher cholesterol level then formula fed babies. Don;t jump the gun here and think breast feeding is bad, as nature has it way to help the babies body adapt to metabolized the cholesterol faster, these adaptation will be somewhat permanent, that adult breast-fed babies are less likely to have heart attack and other cholesterol related problems.

While there are many studies out there saying that cholesterol that is too high can be dangerous, newer studies are suggesting that cholesterol that is too low can also be dangerous. Having lower than normal cholesterol levels has been linked to anxiety, depression, and even suicide. This is thought to be because many people who have lower than average cholesterol also have lower levels of serotonin, the neurotransmitter responsible for "feel good" emotions in the brain. There have also been some suggestions that having abnormally low levels of cholesterol may be linked to some forms of cancer. And the most recent study have shown an increase risk of accidental death comparing very low and normal cholesterol level respectively.

Perhaps the age old axiom stands true in this instance, too much or too little of anything is not good, stick to moderation and balance, will probably reduce most of the risk related to cholesterol

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See how I lower my cholesterol naturally. click Lower cholesterol, to buy my book.