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Fats - II Cholesterol Hi, Hope your week was good. The weekend is just around the corner I am sure we can all do with some time off ! Last week we left off at the saturated/ unsaturated fats. Let's now have a closer look at cholesterol. Accompanying the saturated animal fats is cholesterol, which can be considered A "cousin " to the fat family. Cholesterol is not a harmful substance as such. The body uses it in all of its tissues. It occurs in the brain, spinal column and skin. Cholesterol is part of the raw material from which bile salts, sex and adrenal hormones and Vit D are made. It combines with proteins to enable fats to be carried to the cells. The liver produces all the cholesterol the body needs for its function. In an average adult, about 3000 mg of cholesterol are produced every day, regardless if cholesterol is present in the food eaten or not. When additional cholesterol enters the body through diet, excess occurs. Typically, a person consuming animal products ingests about 800 mg of cholesterol a day. This extra cholesterol is deposited along the walls of the arteries throughout the body. As these deposits grow, a condition known as arteriosclerosis or " hardening of the arteries " occurs. The arteries become constricted and circulation is seriously impaired. This condition contributes to a wide variety of problems, including loss of hearing, baldness, shortness of breath, dizziness and heart attacks. All tissues in the body are harmed since a reduced amount of oxygen and nutrients reach the cells. In America, autopsies on infants less than one year old, many of them fed commercial commercially prepared baby formulas, revealed large amounts of cholesterol already deposited within their arteries. There is absolutely no need for saturated fats or cholesterol in the diet. The body manufactures all of its cholesterol needs. The consumption of additional amounts in the form of animal fats destroys the health of the body at the cellular level. Well, the subject of cholesterol proved to be a newsletter on it's own and we will leave the subject of " how the body uses fat " for next week. Wishing you all the best of health, The Crazy Nut team