Cholesterol and Cardiovascular Diseases - Research Paper Example

When white cells repair the tissue damage, they bring along the cholesterol that is present in the bloodstream, in the process of wall repairing, the cholesterol starts sticking to the walls and starts blocking the flow of blood as collateral damage. Other things also cling on to the patchwork done by the white cells and that turns into a callus. This hard stuff is called plaque. That is how bad habits of smoking or cocaine usage can lead to diseases like atherosclerosis (Brewer).     

     Sometimes there are other factors that come into play regarding extra cholesterol in the bloodstream. For instance, people can have excess amounts of LDL and less HDL which carries away excess cholesterol out of the bloodstream making the blood flow smooth and keeping blood cells healthy. LDL cholesterol sticks onto the artery walls and hardens and rots. Nutritionists suggest taking appropriate amounts of antioxidants in such cases as it prevents the rotting of LDL cholesterol. If the rotting process is not prevented, other substances join the LDL cholesterol, and then plaque is formed on artery walls (Brewer).

     If the plaque stays there for the right amount of time, calcium starts depositing there and that obstructs the blood flow. Just like water can back up in the sink pipe due to a clog, calcium deposits on the plaque can do the same thing by forming a clog and that backs up blood in arteries (Brewer).

Nutritional Value for three Meals

Breakfast

     Regular box cereals 1 cup contains zero cholesterol (Kellogg’s cereals are preferred as they are readily available and their nutritional values are monitored by many). In grams, 1 cup of cereals weighs about 30 grams, taken with fresh orange juice (no sugar), which is a breakfast with no cholesterol at all. It has 78 calories (2000 calories contain about 30 mg of cholesterol by weight and is considered a standard for measurement) ("Calories in Cereals ready-to-eat"). 

  Lunch

     1 cup of chopped boiled chicken (weighing almost 140 gm.) contains about 119mg of cholesterol (“Calories in Chicken”). Chicken can be consumed in boiled form with salt and pepper for seasoning. For dessert after chicken, raw bananas can be consumed that contain zero cholesterol. Eating four small bananas will provide the body with 288 calories and only 4.32 grams of cholesterol ("Calories in Bananas"). 

   Dinner

     Pasta with Sliced Franks in Tomato Sauce can be a good dinner. 1 serving (252 grams) contains 11.6 grams of total fat and a cholesterol count of 22.7 mg ("Calories in Pasta with Sliced Franks in Tomato Sauce"). For dessert, 1 serving of egg custard will do the job. It contains 54.2 mg of cholesterol and 86 calories (12 calories come from the fat) ("Calories in Egg custards").