Cholesterol and Bodybuilding

[Dramascus]

I have heard on these boards a few times that cholesterol supposedly helps gains by raising your anger and testosterone. I was looking this up on google, i found a study that said being angry was associated with high cholesterol, but found several studies saying it lowered testoesterone. Does anyone have the facts on this?, thanks.

[tweeter37]

As far as I know, cholesterol is used for testosterone production. But what you have to understand is there are good and bad cholesterols, just as there's good and bad fats, but that's as much as I know.

[Cardinal]

I have never heard the idea that one type of dietary cholesterol that you get from food is chemically different from another. And hence that one might be termed good and another bad.

Could someone elaborate. It was my understanding that all dietary cholesterol was the same and that the complex way it is metabolized (including its relation to other macro and micro nutrients) determines its effect on the body.

But now that I think about it, not all 'saturated fat' is the same. I believe some 300-400 fatty acids have been identified in milk alone. There is no reason I guess to think that cholesterol does not come in many dietary forms as well.

[YellowJacket]

Cholesterol is a fat-like lipid created naturally in out body by the liver and can be consumed in our diet from only animal foods, plants do not yield cholesterol that is present in all parts of the body including the nervous system, skin, muscle, liver, intestines, and heart.
Facts-

-Cholesterol forms part of every cell in the body.
-Cholesterol is needed to create hormones within the body, maintain healthy cell walls, make vitamin D, and make bile acid which aids in digestion.
-High amounts of cholesterol can clog blood vessels and cause heart disease and increase the risk of hear attack or a stroke.

Your body tends to make too much cholesterol when the body consumes too much saturated fat. Cholesterol comes from animal foods such as eggs, meat and dairy products.

There are 3 types of common cholesterol:

High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) This has a very thick outer wrap, this is a "good" cholesterol.
Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) This is the "bad" cholesterol, a thin outer wrap making it easy to unwrap and allow the cholesterol to deposit on the artery walls.
Very Low Density Lipoprotein (VLDL) These are horrible in the diet and will eventually lead to rapid difficulties.

-Cholesterol is the key ingredient in bile, sexual characteristics, and cell membranes.
- HDL will pick up cholesterol on artery walls and take it where it is needed.
-200 or 190 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) are considered "desirable" in the human diet.

**This is a vague, yet simple description of cholesterol but it goes much deeper than this, but this is from my own words on the basics of cholesterol and the importance, and to prove that it isnt the devil all the time like we were taught growing up. I was always taught, and see why not that it is good to do higher intensity exercises at the beginning of the week to obtain optimal testosterone levels from cholesterol (yes it does that too).
At the end of the week, cholesterol levels are depleted and bit so it would be wise to do things like squats, bench press, deadlifts, things of that nature at the beginning of the week to get the best from your cholesterol. Physical activity increases the amount of HDL (good cholesterol) in the body while at the same time decreasing the amount of LDL and VLDL in the body. This is another reason why physical activity is needed on the food guide pyramid.

SiSide Note: How alcohol damages the body and exercise- The liver is in charge of wrapping the cholesterol to send it on its way....the thicker the wrap, the better. A thick wrap insures that the cholesterol (lipoprotein) is wrapped tightly (dense) and will not come lose only to deposit the cholesterol on the artery walls. If alcohol is ingested, it hampers the liver from putting dense wraps on the lipoproteins, thus allowing it to escape on the artery walls, eventually collecting and causing severe problems such as cardiac arrest, heart disease, etc.

**Why AAS lead to high cholesterol levels- If you are injecting artificial hormones into your body, your body does not need use as much of its own hormone. Cholesterol is responsible for creating this natural hormone. The body begins to shut down (not completely) its own use of cholesterol since it isnt need from the injection of ASS. This causes a rise in cholesterol in the body... this is why it is very good to monitor choesterol levels while on a cycle and when not on an AAS cycle, it is good to get your cholesterol checked around every 5 months, this goes for everyone, not just older people in which we commonly see health problems stemming from high cholesterol.

[fitnessman]

YJ!!!

[YellowJacket]

Originally posted by fitnessman
YJ!!!

Thank you sir, I took into consideration a couple PMs we had.....

[fitnessman]

I seem to be getting beat to the punch

I have been really putting alot of study into dietary cholesterol as of late. Quite interesting! If you dont keep sharp, you miss something research wise!

[YellowJacket]

Originally posted by fitnessman
I seem to be getting beat to the punch

I have been really putting alot of study into dietary cholesterol as of late. Quite interesting! If you dont keep sharp, you miss something research wise!

I agree 100% and your signature is awesome

Im the Carb Nazi here

[fitnessman]

I got caught with my pants down here once last year. Someone asked me about protein conversion that knew his stuff and I wound up with stacks of papers and research sitting by my computer. I was using out dated research from schooling! Wont happen again I hope!

[tre14]

dietary cholesterol has little to no impact of serum cholesterol.

[Terminator X]

****...on this keto **** diet im on, im getting tons of freakin saturated fats and cholestoral...no wonder i notice myself getting short of breath during squats...well its time to hit the freakin treadmills again lol