Does Cholesterol Get Too Low?
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.
It is not hard to find out about the evils of cholesterol. After all, it is known to block the arteries that carry blood throughout the body, leading to the potential of a heart attack or stroke. And of course one of its primary sources is fat, which has long been the plague of dieters around the world. But is it possible for your cholesterol to get too low?
Basically, you have two forms of cholesterol – the good kind, known as high density lipoprotein or HDL cholesterol, and the bad kind, known as low density lipoprotein or LDL cholesterol. The two combined make up your total cholesterol level. In general, your HDL cholesterol should be higher than your LDL cholesterol, your total cholesterol should be at least 160 mg/DL and your HDL cholesterol should be at least 100 mg/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.
While many people think that the lower their total cholesterol levels are, the healthier they are, this is not always the case. Sometimes, a low total cholesterol reading means that you have a lower HDL cholesterol level. At the same time, a higher total cholesterol level is not always bad, since it could mean that you have a higher HDL cholesterol reading. So you need to know exactly what is influencing your total cholesterol.
Your body produces most of the cholesterol that it needs on its own. It is actually an essential part of the body, used for cell maintenance and the production of hormones. You need cholesterol from birth onwards. In fact, breast fed babies tend to have higher cholesterol levels than formula fed babies. However, their bodies also learn how to metabolize the cholesterol better, so as an adult breastfed babies are at a lower risk for 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.
All in all, the best thing you can do is find a health balance for your cholesterol levels – not too high and not too low – to reduce the majority of your risks of complications.
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