What Are The Facts About A Healthy Blood Cholesterol Level

Isn’t getting older an amazing process? As we age such things as having a healthy blood cholesterol level become important to us. Most of us in our earlier years thought thinking about that kind of stuff was totally ridiculous and anyone who did was plain silly or had a bad case of paranoia. But life changes us, and here we are wanting to know what is a healthy blood cholesterol level. So let’s get started while we still have time.

Generally, there are three major benchmarks to pay attention to when determining a healthy cholesterol level. They are LDLs or low density lipoproteins; HDLs or high density lipoproteins; and total cholesterol.

Low density lipoproteins play an important role in cell health by carrying cholesterol away from the liver and delivering it to the cells. Despite is good work it is more commonly referred to as bad cholesterol because of its contribution to arterial plaque deposits.

High density lipoproteins return cholesterol back to the liver where it can be disposed of. Since HDL is always carrying cholesterol away from the heart it is considered to be good cholesterol. Another benefit of HDL is that it seems to reduce arterial plaque when the LDL-HDL ratio is in balance.

In order to qualify for a healthy blood cholesterol level your total blood cholesterol should be less than 200 milligrams per each deciliter of blood. In addition it is recommended that the LDL cholesterol level be less than 120 for those with no family or personal history of heart disease, and less than 100 mg/dl for those who are at risk. HDL levels should be over 50 mg/dl, preferably closer to 60, to be considered healthy.

The LDL to HDL ratio is referred to as the cardiac risk factor ratio and should never be higher than 2.5.

What can impact a healthy blood cholesterol level?

Blood cholesterol reading are not set in stone and can vary greatly over time. The American Heart Association suggests having cholesterol levels checked once every 5 years for those who are not at risk for heart disease and annually for those who are.

There are two categories of factors that affect cholesterol levels; those we can change and those we can’t. Among those we can’t change are age, gender, and heredity. Among those we can change are diet, inactivity, smoking, and being overweight.

What else should I know?

Achieving a healthy blood cholesterol level, in most cases, is about changing old habits, adopting new healthier habits, and enlisting the help of convention medications such as statins or natural cholesterol reducing remedies if needed. Put simply, this basically means finding ways to increase HDL (good cholesterol) and decrease LDL (bad cholesterol levels). Certainly the aforementioned statin drugs will be one of your options but they do carry a number of serious label warnings. The side effect risks have made natural cholesterol reduction supplements combined with diet modification a safe and effective combination worth considering.

By: R.D. Hawkins

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R.D. Hawkins is an enthusiastic advocate for the use of natural health products and natural living with over 10 years experience in the field. Learn more about natural remedies and natural health at Purchase Remedies.com