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What Is Cholesterol Transport?

The body requires a certain amount of cholesterol for healthy function and utilizes a substance called lipoproteins as a cholesterol transport system throughout the blood.

  1. Significance

    • Cholesterol transport refers to the movement of cholesterol through the circulatory system. "Cholesterol and other fats can't dissolve in the blood," according to The American Heart Association. "They have to be transported to and from the cells by special carriers called lipoproteins."

    Identification

    • The chief lipoproteins are low-density (LDL) and high-density (HDL). These two forms of lipoproteins are utilized by medical professionals to measure the amount of cholesterol present in blood and categorized as "bad" or "good" cholesterol.

    Effects

    • Most cholesterol is transported by LDL. If too much of this substance circulates through the blood it tends to accumulate on artery walls causing the condition known as atherosclerosis, eventually bringing on coronary heart disease.

    Benefits

    • Alternatively, high HDL levels are considered to be healthy. "Good" HDL can pick up the soft, waxy cholesterol deposited on arteries by "bad" LDL and deliver it to the liver for disposal in bile," says Susan Conova of Columbia University Health Sciences. "More cholesterol can be disposed when HDL levels are high."

    Considerations

    • Levels of LDL above 100 mg/dL are considered dangerous in either sex while HDL amounts should exceed 40 mg/dL in men and 50 mg/dL in women.

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