Once you can identify the two major types of cholesterol, LDL and HDL, and how they can affect your body, the next step in becoming more informed is to understand the cholesterol numbers game.
The report that your doctor or health care professional receives from the laboratory analyzing your blood will have four numbers that indicate your cholesterol health.
There will be a value assigned to your total cholesterol, your HDL cholesterol, or LDL cholesterol and finally your triglycerides.
While triglycerides are not technically classified as cholesterol, it is a fatty substance the attacks the body in the same manner as bad LDL cholesterol does, so the triglyceride value is often reported as part of the cholesterol number set.
All of these values are reported in units of mg/dl, which translates to milligrams per deciliter.
According to the American heart Association, these are the values that you and your doctor are striving for.
Your total cholesterol number should be below 200 mg/dl to be within the ideal or normal range.
A reading of 200-239 mg/dl would put you into the "Borderline" region.
A total cholesterol level over 240 mg/dl will land you in the "High" region.
Total cholesterol is the combination of your HDL and LDL cholesterol readings.
Your HDL readings are classified as high, low or ideal.
An HDL value over 60 mg/dl is considered to be "High".
A HDL value of less than 40 mg/dl will be considered as a low reading.
Therefore any value between 41 mg/dl and 59 mg/dl is within the normal or ideal range.
When you look at your LDL readings you find that the scale has been expanded to include reading that are considered "Borderline High" and "Very High", plus the ideal, borderline and high.
Numerically the ranges line up like this: less than 100 mg/dl equates to ideal, 100 mg/dl to 129 mg/dl falls into the Borderline region, 130 mg/dl to 159 mg/dl belongs to the Borderline High classification, 160 mg/dl to 189 mg/dl is considered to be "high" and a reading greater than 190 mg/dl is "Very High".
Another way to determine your cholesterol health is to compute your cholesterol ratio.
To find your ratio divide your total cholesterol by your HDL.
That ratio should be less than 5:1 with an optimum ratio being 3.
5:1.
The last set of reported values will be for your triglycerides; there are only four classifications for the Triglycerides.
Reported values less than 150 mg/dl is ideal, 150 mg/dl to 199 mg/dl is considered "Borderline", 200 mg/dl to 499 mg/dl is "High" and values greater than that are considered to be very high.
Dietary and or life style changes may be indicated for those whose readings fall within the borderline regions.
Your doctor may also recommend prescription medication for those whose readings are above that.
Other indicators such as age, and family history, and your ethnic heritage will also play an important part in the regiment that your doctor prescribes.
Just remember that you want all of the values to fall within the ideal range.
The report that your doctor or health care professional receives from the laboratory analyzing your blood will have four numbers that indicate your cholesterol health.
There will be a value assigned to your total cholesterol, your HDL cholesterol, or LDL cholesterol and finally your triglycerides.
While triglycerides are not technically classified as cholesterol, it is a fatty substance the attacks the body in the same manner as bad LDL cholesterol does, so the triglyceride value is often reported as part of the cholesterol number set.
All of these values are reported in units of mg/dl, which translates to milligrams per deciliter.
According to the American heart Association, these are the values that you and your doctor are striving for.
Your total cholesterol number should be below 200 mg/dl to be within the ideal or normal range.
A reading of 200-239 mg/dl would put you into the "Borderline" region.
A total cholesterol level over 240 mg/dl will land you in the "High" region.
Total cholesterol is the combination of your HDL and LDL cholesterol readings.
Your HDL readings are classified as high, low or ideal.
An HDL value over 60 mg/dl is considered to be "High".
A HDL value of less than 40 mg/dl will be considered as a low reading.
Therefore any value between 41 mg/dl and 59 mg/dl is within the normal or ideal range.
When you look at your LDL readings you find that the scale has been expanded to include reading that are considered "Borderline High" and "Very High", plus the ideal, borderline and high.
Numerically the ranges line up like this: less than 100 mg/dl equates to ideal, 100 mg/dl to 129 mg/dl falls into the Borderline region, 130 mg/dl to 159 mg/dl belongs to the Borderline High classification, 160 mg/dl to 189 mg/dl is considered to be "high" and a reading greater than 190 mg/dl is "Very High".
Another way to determine your cholesterol health is to compute your cholesterol ratio.
To find your ratio divide your total cholesterol by your HDL.
That ratio should be less than 5:1 with an optimum ratio being 3.
5:1.
The last set of reported values will be for your triglycerides; there are only four classifications for the Triglycerides.
Reported values less than 150 mg/dl is ideal, 150 mg/dl to 199 mg/dl is considered "Borderline", 200 mg/dl to 499 mg/dl is "High" and values greater than that are considered to be very high.
Dietary and or life style changes may be indicated for those whose readings fall within the borderline regions.
Your doctor may also recommend prescription medication for those whose readings are above that.
Other indicators such as age, and family history, and your ethnic heritage will also play an important part in the regiment that your doctor prescribes.
Just remember that you want all of the values to fall within the ideal range.
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