What does “bad cholesterol” do to the body that increases your risk of cardiovascular disease as opposed to “good” cholesterol?
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So first off, despite the names, neither LDL or HDL is cholesterol. Instead what they are is lipoproteins, or proteins that carry lipids (fats) to different places around the body. When we measure HDL and LDL, what we are actually measuring is the amount of cholesterol each respective protein is carrying. While they are both proteins and they’re both carrying cholesterol, they’re carrying them to different locations for different purposes. HDL carries cholesterol to the liver where it can be broken down and excreted harmlessly. LDL carries cholesterol to your peripheral locations. The problem is when you have too much LDL, white blood cells eat those proteins to reduce their concentration. These white blood cells become bloated, which we call foam cells. These foam cells form the plaque that builds up in arteries and causes vascular disease. These foam cells can’t be seen within the blood, so instead we test for LDL levels
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