Why is ldl cholesterol bad?

QUESTION: I have heard that LDL cholesterol is bad. I want to know why?


ANSWER: Hi there,

In purpose to understand why the LDL cholesterol is called also “bad”, you must know what this molecule is doing inside the organism.

1. First, when you are eating food, cholesterol, glucose, proteins, vitamins and other substances enter in you gastrointestinal tract.

As these molecules are not able to enter directly into the blood stream, they need to be transformed in molecules suitable for the cell. Because of this, these molecules are going to the liver, where a part of them is stored and the other part is transformed in molecules ready for usage.

2. Second, the molecules of cholesterol are fatty-soluble, which means that they cannot be transported by themselves, because they may cause embolism.

In purpose to prevent the development of embolism, the organism is binding the cholesterol with LDL molecules, which leads to the formation of LDL cholesterol.

3. Third, the abbreviation LDL stands for Low Density Lipoproteins and this molecule is transporting the cholesterol from the liver towards all the other cells in the organism.

The bad thing about these molecules is that they can easily be damaged by the blood flow, because of the low density of the molecule.

When these LDL molecules are damaged, they become gummy and they can stick to the wall of the blood vessels causing atherosclerotic development. This is the exact reason why LDL cholesterol is called bad.

You have to pay attention that this is happening, when the concentration of LDL is high, when you are eating food rich in fats. The cells are not able to use of the cholesterol transported by the LDL molecules, which is causing accumulation of the LDL cholesterol in blood. When LDL cholesterol stays in blood for a long time, it becomes vulnerable.

Hope it helped!

Dr.Alba