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Do You Know Your Optimal Cholesterol Numbers? Take A Cholesterol Quiz
You have had your blood test for cholesterol levels and the results have come from the doctor’s office, but what do all those numbers mean? Do you know what your optimal blood cholesterol levels are? Probably like most of us, you don’t have a clue.
The numbers are confusing, what’s high, what’s good and what’s bad cholesterol. So many questions about such a simple blood test, but so important to our health.
Let’s look at some definitions and then look at what levels are considered ideal.
What is cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a sterol molecule, a group of solid mostly unsaturated polycyclic alcohol molecules made by the liver. With all we hear about cholesterol and how bad it is and should be avoided, you might be surprised to learn that our bodies need cholesterol. Cholesterol is produced naturally in our bodies and is essential for many of our body functions. Cholesterol is needed for nerve impulses to be relayed from one neuron to the next. It’s also important for our adrenal glands, without cholesterol we would live in constant pain because the adrenal glands wouldn’t be producing the hormones our body needs. We need these hormones to ward off various diseases, viruses, molds, allergies, and more. These corticosteroids put out by the adrenal glands also help with wear and tear on our muscles, ligaments, tendons, and helps with wear and tear on the bones.
There is another important aspect to the production corticosteroids. They are important to producing both female and male hormones. The sex hormones need cholesterol to allow our bodies to produce testosterone for men and estrogen and progesterone hormones for women. Without cholesterol, we would have no gender and would not be able to reproduce.
Now we have the difference between LDL the bad cholesterol and HDL the good form of cholesterol. The numbers we see on our test results will include total cholesterol level, levels of bad cholesterol as well as the good. Not only do we need to reduce the LDL levels but also increase the HDL in our blood.
The American Heart Association has guidelines for blood cholesterol levels. By being aware of what these numbers should be and what they are will help you to correct your lifestyle to lower cholesterol levels. Let me say first the AHA recommends that anyone over the age of 20 be tested with fasting blood work every five years. This will give you an idea of your numbers but also help you change your eating habits before permanent damage can be done to your health. Here are the numbers that you should be aware of.
Total Cholesterol Level should be less than 200 mg. If it is higher, it will raise your risk of coronary heart disease. If your number is from 200-239, it is considered borderline high. If it is over 240, your risk of coronary heart disease is more than double that of a person with a level under 200.
HDL levels, the good cholesterol, should be less than 50 mg for women and 40 mg for men. This is considered too low and increases your risk of heart disease. If your HDL number is above 60 mg or anywhere above, you are considered protective against heart disease.
LDL, the bad cholesterol, is best if it is under 100 mg. If it’s between 100-129, you are considered to be near or above ideal levels. 130-159 is considered borderline high, 16—189 high, and anything over 190 is considered high and puts you in a much higher risk for developing heart disease.
Another number you will see is your triglyceride level that is another fat in the body. Triglyceride levels will vary by age and sex. Here are the numbers for triglyceride levels. Fewer than 150 mg is considered to be normal, 150-199 is considered borderline high, 200-499 high and anything over 500 mg is considered high.
Changing your diet, quitting the nicotine habit and exercise will help to bring all cholesterol and triglyceride levels in line with what is best for your body. If you have a history of early coronary heart disease in your family, make it a point to have your Doctor order a test for blood cholesterol levels. It could save your life.
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