Healthy Cholesterol Levels for You to Live With

By HelloLife

Cholesterol is a hot topic in the medical health community, as more than a hundred million overweight Americans struggle with unhealthy cholesterol levels and resulting heart complications.

When you get your cholesterol levels checked, your health practitioner will run a blood test, your lipid profile that determines:

Total cholesterol
LDLs
HDLs
Triglycerides

Low Density Lipoproteins

LDL cholesterol is the bad cholesterol that accumulates on inner artery walls, leading to blockage and eventually heart failure. Because of this, LDLs are usually the main target of cholesterol treatment.Healthy people should aim for 130 mg/dL or lower; those with increased risk of heart disease should strive for lower.Certain factors can place you at a very high risk for heart disease.

Diabetes
Smoking
Hypertension
Low levels of HDL good cholesterol
Family history of heart disease
Being age 45 or older if you're a man; age 55 or older if you are a woman

Your LDLs on your lipid profile will fall somewhere in the following range, depending on lifestyle:

70 mg/dL or lower: optimal for those with a high risk of heart disease
100 mg/dL or lower: optimal for those with a risk of heart disease
129 mg/dL or lower: approaching optimal
159 mg/dL or lower: approaching high
189 mg/dL or lower: high
190 mg/dL or more: very high

High Density Lipoproteins

HDL cholesterol is known as good cholesterol, for it prevents clogged arteries and high numbers usually mean lower risk.

Your lipid profile will describe your HDLs, interpreted by the following range:

40 mg/dL or less: inadequate
40-59 mg/dL: more like it
60 mg/dL or greater: greatest

Triglycerides

The form of fat storage in the body, triglycerides can also be found in plasma and is associated with cholesterol. Elevated levels of triglycerides can contribute to coronary heart disease.

150 mg/dL or fewer: optimal
199 mg/dL or lower: approaching high
499 mg/dL or lower: high
500 mg/dL or more: very high

Your lipid profile will also report your total cholesterol levels.

200 mg/dL or lower: optimal
239 mg/dL or lower: approaching high
240 mg/dL or more: high

Healthy Cholesterol Levels

For the best health, you want high levels of HDLs and low levels of LDLs.However, the typical American lifestyle of poor diet and limited or no exercise does just the opposite: lowers your LDLs and raises HDLs, placing you at a greater risk of heart disease and other health complications.

To reach healthy cholesterol levels, naturally you will need to start a healthy diet and exercise program, since their lack thereof is what got you into this mess in the first place.This is especially important for "apple-shaped" body types, who carry most of their fat around their abdomen.In men, this means a waist circumference of 40 inches or more, and in women, 35 or more.

Sources:

http://www.revolutionhealth.com/conditions/heart/high-cholesterol/diagnose-overview/cholesterol-levels

Photo credit: Blue Square Thing