Cholesterol

Cholesterol level scale and cholesterol charts.
The cholesterol level scale is simply the measuring of cholesterol numbers in your blood, which is then given in cholesterol charts form. No matter what cholesterol level scale or cholesterol charts your doctor will give you, it will measure various levels of;

# total cholesterol;

# LDL “bad” cholesterol;

# HDL “good” cholesterol;

# triglycerides; and

# Cholesterol Ratios.

To understand what those cholesterol numbers mean you need to understand first the terms LDL, HDL, triglycerides, total cholesterol and cholesterol ratios.

Below you’ll find a cholesterol level scale or cholesterol charts outlining the cholesterol numbers guidelines. After that you’ll find a detailed explanation of the cholesterol level scale and cholesterol charts for each of cholesterol numbers.

The cholesterol numbers are measured in milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl). This is just for your information, but it doesn’t really have to bother you and your understanding.

National Cholesterol Education Program Cholesterol Guidelines

Desirable          Borderline High        High

Total Cholesterol      Less than 200      200 - 239             240 and higher

LDL Cholesterol         Less than 130      130 - 159             160 and higher
(the “bad” cholesterol)

HDL Cholesterol         50 and higher      40 - 49            Less than 40
(the “good” cholesterol)

Triglycerides              Less than 200      200-399               400 and higher

Cholesterol level scale – Total cholesterol.

Cholesterol is a type of fat (lipid) that your body needs for example your body needs cholesterol to make sex hormones (not bad to have after all).

As the name says, total cholesterol is the number of all the cholesterol found in the blood. Even though you can see from the table above that it is desirable to have total cholesterol less than 200 it is best to aim for 180 and below.

The 200 cholesterol level scale is for the today’s American diet, which is high in fat and carbohydrates. These are the two main culprits of high cholesterol. The 200 number is prescribed having in view a normal American diet, which is not normal anyway.

You need to consider that even a light fat and carbohydrates American diet is still a high fat and carbohydrates diet as compared to other countries in the world. So, aim for 180 and below for total cholesterol level scale.

Cholesterol level scale – LDL “bad” cholesterol.

LDL Cholesterol
(the “bad” cholesterol)

Desirable               Less than 130

Borderline High        130 - 159

High          160 and higher

LDL Cholesterol, is called the bad cholesterol, because it is responsible for depositing cholesterol on arterial walls. A high level of LDL increases your risk of heart attack and stroke. Remember that this is the cholesterol to lower.

As you can see from the cholesterol level scale above, you must aim for a number of 130 or less. It is self-explanatory that if you go above 130, it is a high risk for heart attack and stroke, since it builds up on arterial walls.

To find a solution that lowers your LDL cholesterol as well as total cholesterol, click here.

Cholesterol level scale – HDL “good” cholesterol.

HDL Cholesterol
(the “good” cholesterol)

Desirable            50 and higher

Borderline High           40 - 49

High                         Less than 40

HDL cholesterol is the good cholesterol. It carries away cholesterol from the arteries back to the liver where it is prepared for elimination from the body. The higher your HDL cholesterol level scale, the more cholesterol can be eliminated from your body and the lower your risk of heart attack.

While you see from the cholesterol level scale table above that 50 is a desirable level, aim for 60, since it will clean more of your bad cholesterol from the arterial walls.

Cholesterol level scale – Triglycerides.

Triglycerides

Desirable                Less than 200

Borderline High         200 - 399

High                       400 and higher

Triglycerides are, for simplification, what we call “fat”. When you grab a handful of tummy, love handles or some other fat storage, you are grabbing triglycerides. However, unlike cholesterol, they are burned for energy or else stored in the body’s fat stores to be used later.

Again, do take the 200 number in the cholesterol level scale above with a grain of salt. It is best to have triglycerides levels below 150. That means less fat in your tummy.

Cholesterol level scale – Cholesterol ratios.

Blood Cholesterol Ratios

Protective                  Warning

Total Cholesterol / HDL        Less than 4.2              4.3 and higher

LDL / HDL                         Less than 2.5               2.6 and higher

In Protein Power, Michael and Mary Eades write that this ratio of HDL to LDL and total cholesterol, is actually more important then total cholesterol in predicting heart attack, heart disease, stroke, arteriosclerosis, coronary heart disease, coronary artery disease and other cardiovascular diseases.

These numbers help tell us whether more cholesterol is being stored in our cells or else is being broken down and removed from our body. That’s why you can see heart attacks in people that have low total cholesterol levels. Their ratio HDL is low as well, and as a result their ratio is high.

To determine these ratios for yourself, simply divide your total cholesterol and LDL numbers by your HDL number.

The ratios of total cholesterol to HDL should be below 4 as a general rule for both men and women. However a very good ratio is 3.5, excellent is 3.0 and fantastic is 2.6.

If you can get your ratio down between 2.4 and 2.8, you can actually experience a reversal of heart disease. To find out a solution that can reduce LDL to HDL cholesterol level scale ratio by 23 percent.