What is Cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a type of lipid and plays an important role in the body. It is not only one of the components of cell membranes, but also closely related to the permeability of biological membranes and nerve conduction. It is essential for the formation of bile acids, steroid hormones and the synthesis of vitamin D3. Cholesterol is of great significance to the life activities of the body.
What are the important indicators reflecting the lipid metabolism of the body?
Serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride（TG）, high-density lipoprotein （HDL-C）, and low-density lipoprotein （LDL-C），are important indicators of lipid metabolism in the body. The lipids contained in plasma are collectively referred to as blood lipids. Although the content of plasma lipids only accounts for a very small part of the total lipids in the body, both exogenous and endogenous lipids need to be transported into the blood to circulate among various tissues. Therefore, blood lipid content can reflect the lipid metabolism in the body.
After eating a high-fat meal, plasma lipid levels increased substantially, but this was temporary, and usually returned to normal after 3 to 6 hours. Since the increase of plasma cholesterol and triglyceride levels is related to the occurrence of atherosclerosis, these two items have become the key items of blood lipid determination.
What is the main pathway of cholesterol metabolism in the body?
In recent years, high-cholesterol and high-fat foods have increasingly appeared on people's dining table, resulting in excess cholesterol in the human body. Studies have found that long-term high cholesterol intake will increase the incidence of cardiovascular disease, and the indicators of increased cardiovascular disease risk are increased blood total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.
The formation of high cholesterol is closely related to the levels of HDL-C and LDL-C in serum. HDL-C can inhibit the uptake of LDL-C by cells, hinder the accumulation of cholesterol in cells, and transport excess cholesterol out. Thus, high cholesterol formation is positively correlated with HDL-C and negatively correlated with LDL-C. The reduction of cholesterol in the human body is mainly through transformation and excretion. The liver is the main site of cholesterol metabolism. Most of the cholesterol in the body is converted into bile acids in the liver and excreted into the intestines with bile, and finally excreted with the feces. This is the most important way of cholesterol metabolism in the body.
As an alternative to drugs, diet combined with appropriate exercise to control cholesterol to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease has attracted widespread attention. In addition, phytosterols are also an effective way to lower cholesterol.
HSF Biotech provides high-quality phytosterols, obtained from soybean or palm through physical purification, with high nutritional value and strong biological activity. It is widely used in food, medicine, cosmetics, animal growth agent and other fields.