Cholesterol...

HappyHealthyHolly

...do we need it?

I've been noticing that cholesterol is something that I don't really have to worry about. Most days my amount of cholesterol is 0.

Now, however, I'm wondering if it's similar to a vitamin, in that your body needs some, just not too much. Or do we just not really need any at all?

Any thoughts?

melizerd

The short answer is yes we all need cholesterol. It helps to build cell membranes and produces some hormones in our bodies.

What we don't want is excess cholesterol floating around our bodies. Our livers do most of the work to reduce it into to bile (stored in our gallbladder) until we need the bile for fat digestion.

catecn

anything with a liver produces colesteral, so we create our own and dont need it from animal products. however, if your diet is to low in fat, ur body wont produce enough, and if your cholesteral is to low it cant help regulate cell walls and hormones.

NuttyBrewnette

Yes, some is needed. Our bodies make some, and the rest comes from diet. How much your body makes is mostly a genetic thing..... I don't really know details though....

HappyHealthyHolly

Great info!
Thanks so much!
I was trying to research it & I did find similar notes, but I just love my MFP crowd so much, I had to ask!
Guess I need to find a way to add some cholesterol! (Wow! That sounds odd! LOL)

BeverageTreats

If you're vegan, you can't eat it. It's only in animals and their products.

I would say just make sure you get your healthy fats, and get your own levels tested. Discuss results with your doc.

As a side note, if you are vegan your cholesterol intake on MFP would always be zero. If you saw any cholesterol intake at all on MFP, you may have inadvertently eaten a product containing animal ingredients. Or, chosen a recipe that was "similar" to what you ate that contained animal products when yours didn't.

HappyHealthyHolly

@BeverageTreats Ooo! Thank you so much for that clarification! I wondered what that 3 was a few days ago, lol. I had forgotten that I had a 4 cheese spaghetti sauce in the cupboard.
I hadn't thought about it enough to realize it was only in animal products. Thanks for that! I'll definitely be talking to my doctor.
I am vegan, by the way. Or at least doing my best to be one.

perceptualobfuscator

You don't need to consume any, because your body makes enough on its own (for the vast majority of people). Just make sure you are consuming enough healthy fats, and you should be fine.

It's also possible (but very uncommon) to have too high cholesterol from things entirely unrelated to diet.

And like others mentioned, animal products are the only dietary source of cholesterol, so if you're vegan, you won't consume any. This isn't an issue, as your body will produce its own. The listing on MFP is more of a limit - never go over this amount. Sort of like how sodium is listed.