- is the basic ingredient of most sexual hormones.
- helps to form the skin.
- is the essential substance which the skin uses to make vitamin D.
- is the basic ingredient used to manufacture the body’s stress hormones.
- helps to prevent kidney damage in diabetes.
Cholesterol plays a vital role in every living being. Microbes, bacteria, viruses, plants, animals, and
human beings all depend on it. Since cholesterol is so important for our body, we cannot solely depend on
its supply from external sources, but must be able to produce it internally as well. Normally, our body
makes about half a gram to one gram of cholesterol a day, depending on the amount required by the body
at the time. The main cholesterol producers are the liver and the small intestines. These organs release the
cholesterol into the bloodstream where it is instantly tied to blood proteins that will transport it to their
designated areas for the purposes listed above. Cholesterol basically consists of fat and protein molecules,
which gives it the name "lipoprotein." Only about five percent of our cholesterol circulates in the blood,
while the rest is used for numerous activities in the body's cells.
If a healthy person consumed 100g of butter a day (the average European eats 18g a day), he would
ingest 240 mg of cholesterol, of which only 30-60 percent would be absorbed through his intestines. This
would give him about 90 mg of cholesterol each day. Yet of this amount, only 12 mg would eventually
end up in his blood and raise the cholesterol level by as little as 0.2 percent. In comparison, our body is
able to produce 400 times more cholesterol than we could obtain from eating 100g butter. In other words,
if you eat more than the usual amount of cholesterol in your food, your blood cholesterol levels will
naturally rise. However, to balance this increase, your body will automatically reduce its own cholesterol
production. This self-regulating mechanism ensures that cholesterol remains at the exact level that your
body requires to sustain optimal functions and equilibrium.
If eating fatty foods does not significantly increase cholesterol levels to meet the body's demands for
this vital substance, the body must take other more drastic measures. One of them is the stress response. If
your body runs low on cholesterol, you are likely going to feel stressed. You will lose your calm and
patience, and feel tense and anxious instead. This can occur without any external reason. Stress is a
powerful trigger for cholesterol production in the body. Since cholesterol is the basic constituent of all
stress hormones, any unsettling situation will use up large quantities of cholesterol. To make up for the
loss or increased demand of cholesterol, the liver starts making more of it.
Take the example of the cholesterol-increasing effect of television. Research has shown that watching
television for several hours at a time can drive up blood cholesterol more dramatically than any other so-
called risk factors, including diet, sedentary lifestyle or genetic disposition. Exposure to television is a
great challenge for the brain. It is far beyond the brain's capacity to process the flood of incoming stimuli
that emanate from the overwhelming number of picture frames appearing on the TV screen every second.
The resulting strain takes its toll. Blood pressure rises to help move more oxygen, glucose, cholesterol,
vitamins, and other nutrients around the body and to the brain, all of which are used up rapidly by the
heavy brainwork. Add violence, suspense and the noise of gunshots etc., to the spectacle and the adrenal
glands respond with shots of adrenaline to prepare the body for a "fight or flight" reaction. This causes the
contraction of many large and small blood vessels in the body, leading to shortage of water, sugar and
other nutrients in the cells.
The signs for this stress-response can be several. You may feel shattered, exhausted, stiff in the neck
and shoulders, very thirsty, lethargic, depressed, and even "too tired" to go to sleep. If the body did not
bother to increase cholesterol levels during such stress encounters, we would have millions of television
deaths by now. Thanks to rising cholesterol levels for saving TV watchers!