Your total cholesterol levels include low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) and low-density lipoproteins (VLDLs). A lipoprotein is a fat combined with proteins produced by the liver to make them water soluble. Your doctor may test your cholesterol as one way to indicate your risk of heart disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that one in six Americans has high cholesterol.
HDL Reading
Cholesterol levels are measured in milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl). The best total cholesterol reading is under 200 mg/dl. LDL or bad cholesterol should be under 100 mg/dl. HDL or good cholesterol readings over 60 mg/dl are optimal. The important thing to understand about cholesterol is that not all cholesterol is bad. It is necessary for the synthesis of certain hormones in the body.
Benefits
When you have a high HDL level, you give your body the materials it needs for good cardiovascular health. HDLs help remove excess cholesterol in the blood by transporting it from the body's cells to the liver. In this way, HDLs prevent chronic health conditions such as atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries. The removal of cholesterol prevents the formation of plaque in the inner linings of blood vessels, which can slow or disrupt blood flow.
Risk Determination
A high HDL level in relationship to your total cholesterol count gives an indication of your risk for developing coronary heart disease, explains Gerard Tortora, author of "Principles of Anatomy and Physiology." Determining the ratio between these two figures results in a risk factor number. If your total cholesterol was 180 mg/dl and your HDL level was 60 mg/dl, your risk factor is 3. The higher this number, the greater your risk for heart disease. In this case, your ratio is below 4, which means you have a lower risk.
Considerations
You have some control over your HDL levels. If you exercise regularly within your target heart rate zone, you can increase HDLs. Your target heart rate zone is between 50 and 75 percent of your maximum heart rate. Exercising in this zone is best for cardiovascular health. You can also decrease your total cholesterol naturally. MayoClinic.com explains that nutritional supplements such as fish oils, flaxseed and garlic may help lower your cholesterol.
Prevention/Solution
You can help your body use HDLs to your benefit by lowering your total cholesterol and thus keeping your risk factor low. One way you can do this is by eating a diet low in saturated fat. A diet high in fat affects your cholesterol in two ways. First, it can cause your body to reabsorb cholesterol; this makes it harder for the body to remove cholesterol naturally. Second, the breakdown of saturated fats triggers the production of more cholesterol by the liver. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that your diet contain no more than 10 percent calories from fat.
References
- American Heart Association: What Your Cholesterol Levels Mean
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Cholesterol Facts
- MayoClinic.com: Cholesterol levels: What Numbers Should You Aim For?
- "Principles of Anatomy and Physiology"; G. Tortora et al; 2005
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Step 4: How Much Exercise Is Enough?
