The key difference between good cholesterol and bad cholesterol is that good cholesterol removes other forms of cholesterol from our bloodstream, reducing the risk of heart diseases while bad cholesterol builds up within the walls of our blood vessels, narrowing them and causing heart attacks and strokes.
The rise in non-communicable diseases all over the world during the past five decades makes cholesterol a hot topic, and there is urgency among individuals to gather correct information about cholesterol. Cholesterol is a chemical compound found in animals. It is a macromolecule composed of fatty acids and steroids. Cholesterol plays a major role in maintaining good health by creating cell membranes and hormones like oestrogen and testosterone. It also works as an intracellular messenger. Endogenous production of cholesterol takes place mostly in the liver. Diets fulfil the rest of the cholesterol requirement.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Good Cholesterol
3. What is Bad cholesterol
4. Similarities Between Good Cholesterol and Bad cholesterol
5. Side by Side Comparison – Good Cholesterol vs Bad cholesterol in Tabular Form
6. Summary
What is Good Cholesterol?
Good cholesterol is the high-density lipoproteins (HDL), and it creates a protective effect on the cardiovascular system. Good cholesterol extracts other forms of cholesterol particles from the arterial walls and transports them to the liver to be excreted as bile. Thus, they prevent the formation of atherosclerotic plaques and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks, strokes, etc. As a result, high levels of HDL facilitate long life and reduction in morbidity. In contrast, lower levels of HDL is responsible for the higher incidence of heart attacks and strokes.
Figure 01: Good and Bad Cholesterol
Positive lifestyle modifications and medications like nicotinic acid, gemfibrozil, oestrogen and statins can help to elevate HDL levels.
What is Bad Cholesterol?
Bad cholesterol, or low-density lipoproteins (LDL), carries the newly formed cholesterol from the liver to the other tissues in the body. It causes earlier atheroma formation, progressing into atherosclerosis with narrowing of arteries and leading up to cardiovascular disease (heart attacks and strokes) at an early age, and death. HDL reduces the risk of atheroma by removing cholesterol from the arteries. But, when the HDL level goes down, LDL level goes up, posing the above-mentioned threats.
Figure 02: Atheroma
Positive lifestyle modifications and compliant use of the medication statin, and to a lesser level with fibrates, nicotinic acid, gemfibrozil and resins like cholestyramine can reduce LDL levels.
What are the Similarities Between Good Cholesterol and Bad cholesterol?
- These are two types of lipoproteins composed of fat and proteins.
- Good cholesterol removes bad cholesterol from the arteries.
- Hence, good cholesterol maintains the levels of bad cholesterol.
- In addition, proper levels of both good and bad cholesterol are necessary in order to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
- Moreover, they have a similar basic makeup at the molecular level with hydrophilic heads jutting out and hydrophobic/lipophilic tails jutting into covert the cholesterol particles.
What is the Difference Between Good Cholesterol and Bad cholesterol?
Good cholesterol (HDL) helps to remove other forms of cholesterols from the arteries while bad cholesterol (LDL) builds up within the walls of blood vessels, causing cardiovascular diseases. This is the key difference between good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. Functionally, HDL levels are expected to be in the high range and the LDL levels to be in the low range, to maintain good health. Another difference between good cholesterol and bad cholesterol is that HDL transports the cholesterol from the tissues to the liver to be excreted, while LDL transports them from the liver to the tissues to be deposited.
In addition, there is another difference between good cholesterol and bad cholesterol based on the drugs used to reduce LDL and elevate HDL cholesterols. In reducing LDL levels, statin drugs have a major role to play, whereas in elevating the HDL level it is minute. Furthermore, nicotinic acids, fibrates, and gemfibrozil have the majority action in elevating HDL, whereas its reduction in LDL levels by is negligible. Moreover, resin cholestyramine acts to reduce the LDL level, but it has no effect on the HDL level.
Summary – Good Cholesterol vs Bad cholesterol
Good and bad cholesterol are two types of cholesterol. Good cholesterols are high-density lipoproteins while bad cholesterols are low-density lipoproteins. High level of bad cholesterol is responsible for atherosclerosis, causing morbidity and mortality. In contrast, a high level of good cholesterol is responsible for good health and low risk of cardiovascular diseases. More than one drug is necessary to reduce LDL levels, and to elevate HDL levels in significant amounts. Thus, this is the summary of good cholesterol and bad cholesterol.
Reference:
1. “LDL: The ‘Bad’ Cholesterol.” MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 18 Apr. 2019, Available here.
2. “HDL Cholesterol: How to Boost Your ‘Good’ Cholesterol.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 24 Oct. 2018, Available here.
Image Courtesy:
1. “máu nhiễm mỡ – cholesterol” By LÊ VĂN THẢO (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Flickr
2. “Atheroma” By Manu5 – (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia