What Is Oxidized Cholesterol?

Oxidized cholesterol is made in the body when low-density lipoprotein (LDL), sometimes called “bad” cholesterol, goes through a chemical reaction. Oxidized cholesterol is what builds up on the artery walls, the muscular tubes that carry blood away from the heart.

Too much oxidized cholesterol can lead to atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. The resulting decrease in blood flow in your arteries raises your risk for heart attack and stroke. 

This article explains what oxidized cholesterol is, what causes it, and how it can impact your overall health. It will also discuss what can help reduce and prevent oxidized LDL buildup.

What Causes LDL to Oxidize?

LDL cholesterol can buildup due to:

• Eating foods high in trans fats, like salty fried foods and pastries
• Smoking tobacco products, like cigarettes

When LDL cholesterol reacts with free radicals (unstable molecules made during normal cell metabolism), it can become oxidized. While oxidation is a normal process, it is possible for your body to make too much oxidized cholesterol. This can lead to inflammation and other health concerns.

What Are The Effects of Oxidized LDL?

Oxidized LDL can cause inflammation in the arteries. Platelets, which normally help to stop bleeding by producing blood clots, can stick to areas of inflammation within the arteries. When they do, they create sticky, hardened areas inside blood vessels called plaques.

Over time, fat, cholesterol, and other substances build up in the walls of the arteries. This causes the plaques to grow.

Plaque buildup can partially or completely block blood flow within an artery. This is referred to as atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis increases a person’s risk for:

• Coronary heart disease, or damage in the heart’s blood vessels due to plaque
• Peripheral vascular disease, or a progressive circulation condition that can impact blood flow to the limbs
• Cerebrovascular disease, or a condition that impacts the brain’s blood vessels
• Stroke, or a condition that occurs when the brain doesn’t get enough oxygen
• Heart attack, a condition that occurs when a part of the heart doesn’t get enough blood flow

How Do You Reduce Oxidized LDL?

You can test for cholesterol levels through routine cholesterol blood tests. These determine levels of LDL, HDL, and triglycerides, or a type of fat in the blood. Routine cholesterol tests do not measure the concentration of small versus large LDL molecules or oxidized LDL levels, though advanced lipoprotein tests can measure these.

If you have elevated or high cholesterol, lifestyle changes can help you reduce your level of small LDL. This can help prevent the formation of oxidized LDL.

What Foods Remove Oxidized Cholesterol?

What you eat can play a significant role in preventing oxidized LDL.

Oxidized cholesterol-lowering foods include:

• Fruits and vegetables: Produce is rich in antioxidants with natural anti-inflammatory properties that may help reduce the oxidation of LDL.
• Healthy fats: Healthy fats, like those in nuts, avocados, and seafood, help raise HDL. This is believed to have an antioxidant effect because of its ability to neutralize an enzyme that plays a role in oxidation.

Foods That Cause Oxidized Cholesterol

Foods that cause oxidized cholesterol that should be limited or avoided include:

• Trans fats: Foods higher in trans fats include pastries, deep-fried foods, potato chips, and any food cooked with lard.
• Sugary foods: Refined sugars have been linked to higher levels of oxidized cholesterol.

What Else Can Help Reduce Oxidized LDL?

You can further boost your efforts to prevent oxidized cholesterol by:

• Quitting or avoiding smoking. Smoking exposes you to chemicals that promote free radical formation, increasing oxidative damage.
  
• Controlling your blood sugar. If you have been diagnosed with diabetes, a group of conditions that impact blood sugar, or metabolic syndrome, a group of conditions that increase your risk of stroke, heart disease, and diabetes, it’s important to keep your sugar levels in check. In some cases, your healthcare provider may prescribe medication.
• Exercising. Regular physical activity can help raise HDL, or the “good” cholesterol.

Some cholesterol-lowering medications, such as statins, also have anti-inflammatory properties that may help prevent the inflammation that promotes plaque buildup in the arteries.

Summary

Oxidized cholesterol forms in the body when LDL goes through a chemical reaction. Oxidized LDL can build up on the artery walls due to eating certain foods high in trans fats. Smoking tobacco products is also linked to high levels of oxidized LDL.

Oxidized LDL can lead to inflammation in the arteries and eventually atherosclerosis, which is linked to other serious health concerns.

A Word From Verywell

Oxidized LDL is increasingly recognized as a contributor to heart disease, vascular disease, and stroke.

If you’ve been diagnosed with elevated or high cholesterol, taking steps to eat healthier, exercise more, and to stop smoking can help. A lower level of LDL decreases the chance of plaque buildup. Speak with your healthcare provider about ways you can prevent or reduce LDL buildup.