Cholesterol: Does Smoking Affect Cholesterol

You all know that smoking is injurious to our health, but u might also know that smoking affects the level of cholesterol in the human body. It can cause heart disease, heart attack and stroke. Let’s have a look at this article.

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What Is Cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a type of blood fat which is made in the liver. It is also found in food from animal sources such as eggs, yolk, meat and cheese. Although a high level of cholesterol is harmful to the human body our body needs cholesterol for proper functions. Cholesterol helps to make hormones and Vitamin D. Cholesterol also helps in the digestion of food.

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There are mainly three types of cholesterol found in the body:

High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL): It is good cholesterol because a healthy level may protect against heart attack and stroke. It transfers cholesterol from other parts of the body back to the liver. Later liver removes excess cholesterol from the body. Hence it is known as “Good Cholesterol”

Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL): It is known as “Bad Cholesterol because it can con combine with other substances in the blood to form plaques in the artery and the formation of plaque is known as “atherosclerosis.” It can lead to coronary artery disease.

Very Low-Density Lipoprotein (VLDL): It also tends to promote the build-up of plaque in the artery so it is also known as “Bad Cholesterol”. VLDL mainly carries triglycerides.

Triglycerides are also a specific type of fat which is found in the blood. Excess triglycerides in the body indicate a sign of excess fat in the body. Triglycerides can also cause Type-2 diabetes. Excess triglycerides also show high consumption of calories, especially from refined grains or foods and beverages with added sugar. Triglycerides can also be exalted in people who smoke too much.

Expect smoking there are many things that can also increase the risk of high cholesterol:

• Genetics
• Age
• Medicine
• Obesity
• Diet

What Is The Link Between Smoking And Cholesterol?

Smoking has a major significant impact on the body. It can increase the risk of many diseases like asthma, lung disease and lung cancer. Smoking can also impact our cardiovascular health.

How Does Smoking Affect Cholesterol?

Smokers tend to have a high concentration of LDL and low concentrations of HDL in their blood. It puts them at more risk for plaque formation. We have already talked about the consequences. Smoking also affects how cholesterol is transported in the blood. Smoking causes injury to the lining of the blood vessels.

Our lungs can absorb vapours that are released from cigarette smoke. Smoking is a major cause of cardiovascular disease. Smoking can:

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• Raise triglycerides fat in the blood which can form plaque in the artery. Due to the formation of plaques artery gets blocked and it will be unable to transport the oxygenated blood to the heart. It leads to atherosclerosis.
• Smoking lowers the good cholesterol level.
• Smoking damages the cells that line the blood vessels.
• It causes thickening and narrowing of blood vessels and it impacts the flow of blood in the blood vessels.
• Due to smoking calcium, cholesterol, fat and other substance are accumulated in the blood vessels.

A compound Acrolein found in cigarette smoke impacts the body’s cholesterol level. It is a highly reactive compound which prevents the High-Density Lipoprotein in the blood from transferring the Low-Density Lipoprotein out of the arteries and to the liver.

Conclusion:

Smoking can increase the level of Low-Density Lipoprotein ” Bad Cholesterol” and decrease the level of High-Density Lipoprotein “Good Cholesterol”. As a result, plaque will form in the artery and will narrow the artery. This increase the risk of Heart Attack, Stroke and heart disease.

Disclaimer: All the content of this article is for information purposes only.

References:

www.cdc.gov

www.healthline.com