why is it called "good" and "bad" cholesterol?

Question

hdl's and ldl's both have a specific function in the body. when stressed the body sends adrenaline, and ldl's... to be sent to the limbs for fight or flight. and hdl to go and retrieve the cholestrol deposit and carry back to the liver. being we are in situations where we can not fight or flight, ldl deposits cholesterol in the arteries to use up. the hdl's can only carry so much, the rest settle in the arteries. this is how the body was meant to function. so once more, how can it be called, "good and bad" cholesterol?

Answer 1

thanks for the bio lesson.... sometimes too much of a good thing becomes a bad thing. the "bad" cholesterol becomes bad sooner than the "good" cholesterol. its just about balance...thats how your body was meant to function.

Answer 2

If your HDLs are high, that is good for health, LDLs being high are bad for health. If you have high LDLs, you have a higher risk of heart disease, etc. If you eat a lot of olive oil, which has tons of antioxidants, it helps increase HDLs. Margarine and animal fats in the diet can increase LDLs. Not healthy, ie "bad." This comes less from rigid definitions of what their functions are and more from our limited medical diagnostic powers. Years ago they just thought having high cholesterol was bad. They didn't even know HDL and LDL existed! Think what we'll know in 20 yrs. There is definitely more that we don't know than we do!

Answer 3

Probably because too much of the LDL builds up in the arteries to form plaques and increases the probability for a stroke or heart attack if they break off (a "bad" thing).

Since the HDL helps to remove the LDL, it performs a "good" function.

Also, you want to increase your HDL, but want to decrease too high of an LDL.

Answer 4

because once you acquire a lot of bad cholesterol you will have hypercholesterolemia which means elevated bad cholesterol in the blood. this condition can give you diseases like heart attack. good cholesterol is good for the body unlike the bad ones