Cholesterol is a waxy-like substance found in fats in your body and bloodstream. Healthy amounts of cholesterol are essential in forming cells, tissues and in protecting organs, such as the cholesterol, or fat, that protects the brain and nerves. However, unhealthy amounts increase your risk for heart disease because too much cholesterol can form large fatty substances that clog the arteries that carry blood to your heart. Over time, this may lead to a heart attack. Therefore, you should have your cholesterol levels checked regularly and know what good cholesterol levels are.
Total Cholesterol
The first reading you will get after your lipid profile blood test is your total cholesterol level. Your total cholesterol level measures the amount of cholesterol in your bloodstream, including both low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, and high-density lipoprotein, or HDL, cholesterol. The levels are measured in milligrams per deciliter of blood. According to Medline Plus, total cholesterol levels should be under 200 mg/dL. You may have an elevated total cholesterol but still have healthy cholesterol if you have high HDL and low LDL levels. A lipid panel test measures your LDL and HDL cholesterol levels separately for accurate numbers.
LDL
Your LDL cholesterol is often referred to as the "bad" cholesterol because high levels of LDL increase your risk for developing heart disease. In fact, the correlation is so strong that general guidelines for good LDL levels are to keep LDL less than 70 mg/dL if you have a history of heart disease. Keeping your LDL below these levels helps prevent future heart problems. If you do not have a history or heart disease, then LDL levels between 100 and 129 mg/dL are considered ideal, states MayoClinic.com. Overall, the lower you can keep your LDL levels, the better your cardiovascular health will be.
HDL
HDL is considered the "good" cholesterol because it helps lower your LDL and total cholesterol levels. HDL removes excessive cholesterol from your bloodstream and causes it to be metabolized in the liver. Therefore, the higher your HDL cholesterol levels, the healthier your cardiovascular health will be. MayoClinic.com recommends keeping your HDL levels greater than 60 mg/dL for the best HDL levels. HDL should not be lower than 40 mg/dL, however.
Triglycerides
Triglycerides are another type of fat in the bloodstream. Although not a cholesterol, triglyceride levels are often reported with total cholesterol, LDL and HDL because high triglyceride levels can also increase your risk for cardiovascular disease. Therefore, triglyceride levels must also be in healthy ranges below 150 mg/dL, recommends MayoClinic.com. The levels of triglyceride fats should not exceed 200 mg/dL.
