Enjoy Your Holiday Meals with Families

Hello everyone,

The Holidays are coming! Are you excited? What does a holiday mean to you? Family gatherings, traveling, fun activities, shopping, cooking, good foods, eating and drinking, and weight gain? What? Weight gain? You may be surprised how many people associate the holidays with weight gain. To an extent, some people may even not able to enjoy their holidays because they are too afraid of gaining weight. They may be afraid of the "Thanksgiving family dinner table," because they think that they are going to lose control over food.

Holidays lose their meanings, if people are not able to enjoy themselves with families at a dinner table. To better enjoy your holidays, here are some tips.

Tip one: You can have what you like!!!

Do not tell yourself "I can't have this and I can't have that." If you send these messages to your brain, the only thing your brain hears is "I want this and that." Therefore, do not tough it out. Go and enjoy the dish you like with your family!

Tip two: Savor every bite.

Take it slow while eating your favorite foods no matter if it is a piece of pie, a cup of cocktail, or a slice of turkey. Enjoy every bite of it. If you eat too fast, you wouldn't be able to taste the real flavor of your favorite food. People often suggest to chew 20 times before you swallow, which is really hard to keep up with. You don't have to count. The whole purpose of counting your chews is that be aware of eating. You can be aware of eating by processing the taste of every bite in your brain. Amazing things will happen if you think about the taste, your childhood memory may come back while you are eating your favorite foods. You may think that this tastes just like grandma's pumpkin pie! Don't the old memories make your holidays even more enjoyable?

Tip three: Try a little bit of everything.

Instead of having a full portion of food items on your plate, put a little bit of everything on your plate. It is like doing a taste test. Usually, there are many different dishes on the table, which is great. We should celebrate the harvest of the fall season and celebrating our family times with plenty of food. There is nothing wrong with celebrating with foods. In history, having a feast is usually used to celebrate big events. In those days, people usually overeat at the feast because they have been starving or have an energy deficiency. Nowadays, in the United States, the majority of the population does not have an energy deficiency before the big feast. Therefore, overeating should be avoided. One of the best ways to avoid overeating is to put less food on your plate. People tend to feel obligated to finish what's on their plate, which is a good habit because you don't want to waste food. So, put a little bit, a tablespoon full, of the foods you like on your plate. If you feel like more after finishing your plate, you can always get more.

Tip four: Cook healthy dishes.

Nothing is better than having a good start. A good start means your food choices are healthy. Cook healthy dishes to begin with. Stuff your turkey with cranberries and quinoa instead of bread crumbles; make your pumpkin pie with fresh ingredients and whole grain flour; add more vegetable dishes to you dinner table such as baked winter squash, kale chips, holiday veggie casseroles; make your dishes healthy and creative. I will introduce you a quinoa salad recipe. It is a healthy holiday addition to your dinner table! This recipe is developed by Chef Adam and me. Please enjoy!           

Quinoa Salad Recipe:

Makes 4 to 6 servings

For the Salad:

1 cup quinoa, dry (uncooked)

1 tart apple, chopped

½ cup pecans chopped and toasted

¼ cup dried cranberries, unsweetened or sweetened

¼ cup dried cherries

¼cup of broccoli (optional)

For the Dressing:

1 tbsp olive oil, melted

1 tbsp maple syrup

½ tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp honey (optional)

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Dash cinnamon

Dash nutmeg  

Directions

Bring water to boil and pour onto quinoa. Let quinoa sit in water for 20 minutes covered with foil. Fluff quinoa after soaking.

Put all of the dressing ingredients except vinegar in a bowl, and mix well.

Cut apples into small chunks and toss them in the vinegar.

Drain the apples over a bowl. Pour the vinegar and juice into the dressing and mix well.

Mix the apples, toasted pecans, dried cranberries, and dried cherries with the cooled quinoa.

Mix quinoa with dressing and let it sit overnight

For additional texture and flavor, you may add these steps:

Cut broccoli florets into halves

Blanch broccoli in steamer for 30 seconds, and set the pan on top of an ice bath

Drain and squeeze water out of broccoli, add broccoli to salad

Mix everything well

Add cinnamon and nutmeg before serving

Storage Instructions: Refrigerate covered for up to 2 days.

With all the tips in mind and great recipes, I hope you have a wonderful holiday season! 

Chen Du, Author of the Blog

References:

All linked recipes are from the Food Network web site.

A Bite of China Dish Three Part II- Fish Maw

Hello everyone,

It is getting cold out there. To keep warm, soups and stews are getting popular! Recall from last week, I introduced you to a Chinese Dish - Loofha, fish maw, and shrimp stew, and I talked about the nutrition benefit of Loofha. This week, I will dig into the next ingredient - fish maw.

"What! Fish maw??? What on earth is fish maw? Is fish maw edible? What does it taste like? How do you cook it? Where can you even get it?......" You may be having a lot of questions about fish maw. And, I am excited about you having questions. Let me answer all of your questions through this blog post.

What is fish maw?

Fish maw is an internal organ of fish, which contributes to the ability of a fish to balance forces internally and externally. In other words, fish maw helps fish reserve energy while staying at the current water depth. Fish maw is a gas filled organ. It changes size as fish swims at different water levels[1]. How interesting! Here is a picture of fish maw:

Figure 1

Fish maw used in cooking is usually the dried form of the fish air bladder. There are four kinds of fish maw, which are divided based on quality. They are king fish maw, premium fish maw, grass seabass fish maw, and fried fish maw. King and premium fish maw have higher quality and are more expensive, which are usually used in fine dining. Grass seabass fish maw and fried fish maw are more often seen in the market due to the economical price. There are also texture differences between male and female fish maw. Male fish maw is thicker, while female fish maw is thinner and more tender[2].

What's the nutritional value of fish maw? 

Fish maw is rich in protein, phosphorus, and calcium. Due to its high nutritional value, it considered a therapeutic food in China. Fish maw also contains glycosaminoglycan, which is a unbranched polysaccride consisting of a repeating disaccharide unit. Glycosaminoglycan is a very polar molecule, and therefore attracts water[3]. It is used in the fish's body as a lubricant, and in humans it helps the skin stay hydrated. Therefore, fish maw stew is very popular among women to maintain better skin health. Fish maw does not contain cholesterol. It can be consumed for long term health.

How to cook fish maw?

Different types of fish maw requires different preparation method. Generally speaking, there are 3 steps involved in preparing fish maw for cooking.

Step 1: Re-hydrate dried fish maw by soaking it in water until it softens, and change water in between to eliminate fishy smell.

Step 2: Deodorize fish maw by boiling fish maw with ginger and shallot in a pot of water. 

Step 3: After boiling, rinse fish maw under running water. Now it is ready to cook!

You can cut fish maw in sections and put them in your stew. Here is a Fish Maw Soup Recipe from Food Network. Enjoy your exotic, nutritional, and warm soup in this freezing season! It will help replenish your body and help your skin stay hydrated.

Where to get fish maw?

You can purchase fish maw at Asian markets, and you can also order them online through international companies. Since they are in dried form, they can be stored for a long time.

Here is a picture of dried fish maw:

Figure 2

I hope you enjoyed A bite of China with me so far! There are more dishes coming, but we are going to take a break and switch gears a little bit. The holidays are approaching. I know you may worry more about what to cook for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I will be writing holiday eating tips next week. 

Have a great week!

References:

1. Maw Bladder. Academies Dictionaries of Encyclopedias Web Site. http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/en_ichthyology/10796/maw. Accessed November 15, 2014.

2. About Fish Maw. Emperor Brand Bird's Nest Web Site. http://www.emperorbrandbirdnest.com/our-news/product-knowledge/about-fish-maw.html. Accessed November 16, 2014.

3. Esko, J.D., Kimata, K., Lindahl, U., Proteoglycans and Sulfated Glycosaminoglycans. In: Essentials of Glycobioigy. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; 2009:

Figure 1:
Swim Bladder. Wikipedia Web Site. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swim_bladder#cite_note-Orr-. Accessed November 15, 2014.

Figure 2:
Dried Fish Maw. Food and Beverage Online Web Site. http://www.21food.com/products/dried-fish-maw-(grouper)-101176.html. Accessed November 16, 2014.

A Bite of China - Dish Three: Shrimp, fish maw, and loofha stew! Part I

Hello everyone,

How's your week? This is a super busy week for me, but a very rewarding one! I like to keep busy during the week, which makes my weekend even more rewarding for me, because now I can enjoy this delicious, exotic, and healthy dish with you. 

This week, I would like to introduce you to shrimp, fish maw, and loofha stew. Many of you may ask, what on Earth is loofha? Is fish maw edible? Are you sure you can eat this? All right, folks, take a deep breath. Let me tell you more about this dish. You are all familiar with shrimp, so I am going to skip introducing shrimp. My focus is loofha and fish maw.

Shrimp, Fish Maw, and Loofha Stew

  

Figure 1

Loofha:

Loofha, also spelled lufha, is a member of cucumber family. The fruit harvested at a young stage of development can be eaten as a vegetable, whereas fruit harvested at a later stage of development is made into scrubbing sponges due to the xylem fibers within the fruit.

Younger and green loofha is used for cooking 

Figure 2

Ripened or older loofha is made into sponges 

Figure 3

Loofha is best eaten when it is still young and green, because as loofha becomes ripe, the fiber in loofha gets tougher. when it is fully ripened, it becomes too woodsy and fibrous to consume. Loofha is used in stew and stir-fry in Asian countries. The texture and taste of loofha is similar to okra. In Canada, people call loofha, the Chinese okra. As it is similar to okra, you can also bread loofha, deep fry it, and serve it with dipping sauce.

Loofha is extremely advantageous for its health benefits. It is low in calories, abundant in fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, riboflavin, zinc, thiamine, iron, and magnesium.

Here are some health benefits of Loofha: 

• Blood cleaner

Due to the high fiber content of loofha, it can help lower you LDL cholesterol level in your blood. Loofha helps regulate blood sugar by slowing down sugar absorption at the small intestine. Also, Loofha contains a certain peptide, which structures like insulin, alkaloids, and charantin chemicals which help in reducing blood sugar.

• Satiety helper

Fiber slows down stomach emptiness after eating. Therefore, loofha keeps you feel full longer and feel satisfied longer.  

• Liver detoxing

Loofha acts to boosts the liver health. The practice of using loofha to treat jaundice has been around for a long time.

• Colon cleaner

The cellulose fibers present in loofha are helpful in the treatment of constipation and also effective in the treatment of piles. Loofha also has a healthy laxative propriety. If you cut one loofha open and touch the inside of it, you can feel a slimy substance, which has a laxative effect.

• Immune system booster

Due to the high vitamin and mineral content in loofha, it is a great immune system booster. It has been used in preventing colds, treating fevers, and managing pain caused by autoimmune diseases. 

• Skin care

Ripened loofha is made into scrubbing sponges. Using a loofha sponge to scrub your skin can eliminate the dead cells left behind on the skin in order to smooth and brighten your skin. The mechanical effect of scrubbing accelerates your blood flow, which helps boost metabolism in your body.    

• Milk production

Having loofha stew to increase milk production is a common practice in Chinese culture. High nutritional value of loofha helps ensure that nursing moms are getting enough nutrition for themselves in order to produce milk. Studies have shown that consuming loofha is associated with better milk flow during nursing.

Loofha is an amazing vegetable! For each 100g of loofha, which is about 3.5 oz, contains about 16 kcal, 1 g of protein and 3 g of carbohydrate. I encourage you to try this nutritious vegetable out! You can stir fry it with other vegetables, stir fry it with eggs and meats, you can add it to your beef stew or other stews, and you can also try deep fried loofha! 

I think I have given you a lot of information to digest. We will continue our learning on this dish next week, in which I will introduce fish maw to you! Looking forward to it!

References: 

Health benefits of Ridge Gourd. Health Benefit Times Web Site. http://www.healthbenefitstimes.com/health-benefits-of-ridge-gourd/. Published July 28, 2013. Accessed November 9, 2014.

Luffa. Web MD Web Site. http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-194-luffa.aspx?activeingredientid=194&activeingredientname=luffa. Accessed November 9, 2014. 

Medicinal Uses of Luffa-Ridge Gourd. Spice Flair Web Site. http://www.spiceflair.com/medicinal-usesf-luffa-or-ridge-gourd/. Published June 22, 2012. Accessed November 9, 2014. 

Figure 2:

Loofha with kiffar lime leaves. Rechael cooks thai.com Web Site. http://www.rachelcooksthai.com/loofah-with-kaffir-lime-leaves/. Published September 15. Accessed November 9, 2014.  

Figure 3:
Loofhas. Boston.com Web Site. http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/missconduct/2009/05/loofahs.html. Accessed November 9, 2014.

A Bite of China - Dish Two

Hi everyone,

Let's continue our Chinese food journey! We need to have something vegetable since we had lamb last time. I would like to introduce you a Chinese leafy green vegetable to you - stir fried Yu Choy. 

Yu choy is also known as the Chinese oil vegetable, because Yu Choy seed can be pressed into vegetable oil. Yu Choy belongs to the brassica vegetable family, which includes broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kale, etc. It tastes slightly bitter, but stir frying can complement some of the bitter taste. The texture of Yu Choy is very crunchy due to the high fiber content. Personally, I like stir fired Yu Choy the most, but it can also be cooked some other ways such as steaming, adding it to your soup, adding to your green smoothie, and to your quiche in place of spinach. I have never eaten it raw and I am not planning to try because of the bitterness. You can find Yu Choy in most Asian markets.

   
This is what it looks like before cooking:

Let's get into the exciting part - the nutritional benefit of Yu Choy. A bunch of Yu Choy doesn't weigh much, but is loaded with nutrients. It is a nutrient dense vegetable. In other words, it has high nutritional value, and low calories. Since Yu Choy belongs to the Brassica family, it shares many health benefits with brassica family vegetables.

The top nutrients associated with Yu Choy include:

• High in  phytochmiclas such as carotenoids and flavonoids, which are studied to have a health benefit in preventing cancer, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic syndrome. Flavonoids help extend the benefit of vitamin C, which act as antioxidants to prevent LDL from being oxidized (like I mentioned in this post). Other than preventing oxidation, flavonoids can also prevent platelet aggregation in order to prevent blood clotting in your vessels.

• High in fiber. It is recommended to consume 25 g to 35 g of fiber daily, depending on your weight and gender. Insoluble fiber helps to better regulate intestinal health and soluble fiber helps to prevent cardiovascular diseases by lowering LDL levels in blood. 

• High in calcium. Yu Choy along with other brassica vegetables contain a high amount of calcium. You may worry about the bioavailability of calcium in vegetables. In other words, you have raised a question: how much calcium can we actually absorb from eating Yu Choy? Yu Choy is similar to Bok Choy in terms of calcium content and bioavailability.  Here is a table showing calcium bioavailablity in different food sources:  

In term of absorption percentage, bok choy, broccoli, and kale, who are from the brassica vegetable family beats milk, the go-to-source for calcium. You can get natural calcium from brassica vegetables, and it absorbs better.     

• High in Vitamin K. Vitamin K is important in protecting skin from aging. It is also needed for blood clotting in order to decrease the risk of excessive bleeding. 

• High in Vitamin C and Vitamin A. Vitamin C acts as an antioxidant to prevent free radicals from damaging out cells. Vitamin C is also involved in the collagen synthesis, which help us develop healthy skin. Vitamin A is best know for vision development.        

• High in iron. To improve the bioavailability of iron from brassica vegetables in general, consume foods high in vitamin C along with these vegetables. Having a glass of orange juice with your vegetables or mixing vegetables with citrus fruit in your smoothies are all good methods of improving iron absorption from brassica vegetables.

Nutrition Facts for one cup of Yu Choy:

References:

1. Overfied, T. Biological Variation in Health and Illness: Race, age, and Sex Differences. CPC Press. 1995: 102-103. 

The Serious Eats Field Guide to Asian Greens. Serious Eats Web Site. http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/05/asian-green-guide.html Published May 15th, 2014. Accessed November 2nd, 2014.

Weaver CM, Proulx RW, Heaney R. Choices for achieving adequate dietary calcium with a vegetarian diet.  Am J Clin Nutr. 1999; 70(3): 543-548

Brassica Family. Alive Web Site. http://www.alive.com/articles/view/16701/brassica_family Published September 2000. Accessed November 2nd, 2014. 

Yu Choy. Daily Burn Tracker Web Site. http://tracker.dailyburn.com/nutrition/yu_choy_calories. Accessed November 2nd, 2014. 

A Bite of China - Dish One

Hello folks!

I am so excited to write this post because I will talk about Chinese food, my homeland food! Many of you may have traveled to China and had your own opinion about Chinese foods. They may taste delicious, amazing, interesting, or awkward to you. True! One word can not simply describe the taste of Chinese foods. Where ever there are people, there is food. China has more than 5000 years of history. Therefore, Chinese foods has just as many years of history as 5000 years. When ever you are taking a bite of Chinese foods, you are biting into a long tradition!

I went to China to visit my family the past summer for 6 weeks. I got a chance to walk on my Chinese food journey again. It was a fascinating and memorable journey for me. I want to share some of the dishes with you, along with the nutritional benefit of the ingredient(s) in the dishes.

The first dish I would like to introduce is an Inner Mongolia dish, called slow cooked lamb. My grandma lives in Inner Mongolia. I visited her on my trip to China. Therefore, I had many Inner Mongolia foods. Most of Inner Mongolia is covered by grass land, which makes a perfect environment for ranching. Sheep is very profitable to ranch because of its commercial value. Sheep's wool can be used in clothing industry, sheep milk can be used in making cheese and other dairy products, and of course, lamb meat (sheep less than one year old) is always in demand because lamb is a part of Inner Mongolian people's diet. Also tourists wouldn't want to miss the chance of tasting the best and original grass fed lamb meat when they visit Inner Mongolia.      

Inner Mongolia Dish: Slow Cooked Lamb

Featured Ingredient - Lamb

Nutritional benefit 

• High in omega-3 fatty acid 
• High quality protein
• High in easily absorbed zinc
• High in iron
• High in selenium  

Health benefit 

•  Help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease due to higher omega-3 fatty acid and higher conjugated linoleic acid, which is associated lower risk of heart disease. Also, lamb has a higher oleic acid content, which is a monounsaturated fat. It is also studied to be associated with reduce risk of heart disease.
• Due to the higher content of minerals zinc and selenium, lamb can help protect oxidative stress in our body.
• Higher quality protein in lamb is easier to be absorbed and utilized by our body.
• Lamb is also a good source of Vitamins, especially B vitamins. B vitamins play a vital role in metabolism.

3 oz (85 g) Cook Lamb Nutrition Value 

References:

Lamb, grass-fed. The World Healthiest Foods Web site. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=117#healthbenefits. Accessed October 29, 2014. 

The Nutrition of Lamb. Fit Day Web site. http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/the-nutrition-of-lamb.html#b. Accessed October 29, 2014.

The Nutrition Fact of Lamb, Cooked, Braised. NutritionData.com Web site. http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/lamb-veal-and-game-products/4669/2. Accessed October 29, 2014. 

Cholesterol and Heart Health Part III

Cholesterol, particularly LDL cholesterol, forms a fatty substance called plaque, which builds up on the arterial walls of the heart. Smaller plaques remain soft, but older, larger plaques tend to harden.

The long-term result is atherosclerosis, commonly called hardening of the arteries.

Eventually these hardened arteries become narrower (a condition known as stenosis). As this process continues, blood flow slows and prevents sufficient oxygen-rich blood from reaching the heart. This condition leads to angina (chest pain) and, in severe cases, to heart attack.

Smaller unstable plaques may rupture, triggering the formation blood clots on the surface. The blood clots block the arteries and are important causes of heart attack.

This process is accelerated and enhanced by other risk factors, including high blood pressure, smoking, obesity, diabetes, and a sedentary lifestyle. When more than one of these risk factors is present, the risk is compounded.

Coronary Artery Disease is the end result of atherosclerosis, hardening of arteries. Coronary artery disease, commonly known as heart disease, is the leading cause of death in the U.S.

 Study has shown a higher blood cholesterol level associates with a higher risk of heart disease. Therefore, lower cholesterol level reduces risk of developing heart disease.       

What can I do to lower my cholesterol level?

There are a few factors that affect your cholesterol level, which include dietary choices, physical activities, weight, age, gender, and heredity. We can’t control the last three factors, but we are in control of the first three factors. The goal is to lower LDL and raise HDL.

Dietary Choices:

Study recommended that lower saturated fat (less than 7% of total kcal intake) intake for heart health.  

Trans fat intake raises LDL and cholesterol levels in your blood and lowers HDL.

On the flip side, studies have shown that monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat helps lower LDL level.  Diets high in soluble fiber helps reduce LDL in your blood.

Also, weight loss, exercise, and stopping smoking helps reduce the risk of heart disease.

Let’s talk more about what to eat to reduce risk of heart disease starting with choosing healthy fat!

Based on the Therapeutic Lifestyle Change Diet Recommendations:

Breads and cereals: have more than 6 servings of bread and cereals each day, especially whole grain; pasta, rice, dry beans and peas.

Vegetables: have 3 to 5 servings of vegetables each day without added fat, sauce or salt.

Fruit: have 2 to 4 servings of fruits each day.

Dairy products: 2 to 3 servings per each day. Choose fat free, 1% milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, fat free and low fat cheese.

Egg: less than 2 egg yolks per week. Choose egg white or egg substitute.

Meat, poultry, and fish: consume less than 5 oz per day. Choose lean cuts: loin, leg, round, extra-lean (93%) hamburger, cold cuts made lean meat or soy protein, skinless poultry, and fish.

Fats and oil: minimize saturated fat and Trans fat. Consume a moderate amount of polyunsaturated fat and monounsaturated fat (refer back to the good and bad fats table).

Fiber: 20 to 30 grams each day from varied sources, such as barley, oats, psyllium, apples, bananas, berries, peaches, pears, nectarines, broccolis, dry beans, peas,  and soy products (miso, tofu).

Also, studies have shown that plant sterols help lower LDL level. Plant sterols can be obtained from stanol/sterol containing margarines.

References:

What is cholesterol? National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute Web Site. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/hbc/ Published September 19, 2012. Accessed October 9, 2014.

About cholesterol. American Heart Association Web Site. http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Cholesterol/AboutCholesterol/About-Cholesterol_UCM_001220_Article.jsp Published April 21, 2014. Updated July 31, 2014. Accessed October 9, 2014.

Cholesterol- Blessing or Curse? Developing Health Habits Web Site. http://developinghealthyhabits.com/cholesterol-blessing-or-curse/ Published Feburary 1, 2011. Accessed October 9, 2014.

Cholesterol. Center for Disease Control and Prevention Web Site. http://www.cdc.gov/cholesterol/faqs.htm Published Janurary 30, 2012. Accessed October 9, 2014.

Choosing Healthy Fat. HelpGuide.org Web Site. http://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-eating/choosing-healthy-fats.htm Updated October, 2014. Accessed October 12, 2014.

Heart Pack Patient Education. Mended Heart Web site. http://mendedhearts.org/education Updated 2014. Accessed October 9, 2014. 

        

Cholesterol and Heart Health Part II

Where does cholesterol come from?

Ok, we have learned that how important cholesterol is to our lives. Our next question is where does cholesterol come from? It comes from two sources. The majority of cholesterol is produced by liver, about 1000mg per day. Cholesterol can also come from food sources such as meats, poultry, fish, eggs, whole milk, and cheese. Based on American Dietary Guideline, dietary cholesterol consumption should be limited to fewer than 300mg per day. 

How does cholesterol affect heart health?

To answer this question, we need to look into the transportation of cholesterol. Cholesterols are transferred through blood and carried by lipoproteins, which are shaped like small packages. The inside of the small package is made of fats, and the outside of the small package is made of proteins. There are many lipoproteins which are involved with transporting cholesterols. The two most often heard and most used as health indicators are LDL (low density lipoprotein) and HDL (high density lipoprotein).

LDL acts as a glue to fix damage in your circulatory system. If there is damage in your arteries, LDL would be deposited in the damaged area to fix the damage.  On the flip side, if there is no damage in your arteries, LDL would not be deposited at all. Therefore, the real problem is arterial damage, which is the real start of cardiovascular disease. Arterial damage is caused by high blood pressure, smoking, poor dietary choices, and some other factors.

HDL acts as a scraper to remove excess LDL cholesterol and transport it from the arteries to the liver. Then, the liver removes cholesterol by converting it to bile salt and putting it into the bile where it can be eliminated in the feces.

The Problem with LDL Cholesterol:

There is a problem with excessive LDL deposition. If there is too much damage in your arteries, then there will be too much LDL expressed to repair damage. Like we talked about earlier, LDL acts as a glue or band-aid. LDL binds to the damage sites, preventing hemorrhage and blood loss. Recall that LDL carries cholesterol, which is a fatty like substance. What happens if you sit a bottle of oil open, exposed to air for long time? It will turn rancid. The same as LDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol starts oxidizing and turns rancid once it is deposited into the damaged arteries.

Damaged arteries and rancid fatty material create inflammation, which sends signals to the immune system to help the repair. Platelets are sent to stop the inflammation. Remember, LDL cholesterol is deposited into the blood vessel, and forms a small plaque.  Platelets mix into the sticky LDL cholesterol plaque to form a larger bandage. Eventually, the bandage becomes too big, which narrows the arteries. Then, something like a blood clot or loose cholesterol plaque blocks the remaining space, which leads to lack of blood flow and cell-death.

If the arterial damage is in your heart, it may lead to heart disease: