LDL HDL Cholesterol – Which is Good and Which is Bad?

When your doctor spouts off your cholesterol levels in terms of LDL and HDL, does your brain shut off? In order to understand the difference between LDL and HDL cholesterol, you need a basic understanding of how cholesterol works with and affects your body chemistry.

First, cholesterol in itself – whether LDL or HDL cholesterol – is not a bad thing. Although cholesterol is most well known for the role it plays in contributing to heart disease, it is actually a substance needed by and naturally produced by the body. For instance, cholesterol is responsible for building cell membranes and for maintaining the fluidity of these membranes. Cholesterol also plays an important part in helping to metabolize fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamins A, D, E, and K. Scientists also say cholesterol helps in the production of bile, which, in turn, helps to digest fat. What your doctor refers to as “good” cholesterol is the HDL, or high-density lipoprotein, cholesterol. Actually the term good cholesterol is slightly misleading since there are actually not two forms of cholesterol. In the case of HDL cholesterol, it is carried by a high-density lipoprotein. Low-density lipoproteins, on the other hand, actually deposit cholesterol onto the walls of the arteries, thus increasing your risk for heart disease and heart attack.

Generally, your doctor will want your HDL cholesterol levels to stay above 40 mg/dl. Higher levels of LDL cholesterol put you at a greater risk for heart disease or heart attack. Despite common knowledge, there is no “good” or “bad” cholesterol, there is just cholesterol. The carrier of the cholesterol – whether LDL or HDL – is what determines if the cholesterol is harmful to your heart or not. HDL cholesterol is taken away from the heart and therefore is considered “good.”

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