Your doctor sat you down and gave you the bad news: your cholesterol numbers are off. You have no idea what it means, though. There are so many different numbers and categories, it can be confusing to sort it all out. Some cholesterol is good, some is bad. Some fats in your diet are good and some are bad. If it is too much for you, schedule an appointment with your doctor to talk it out. Remember to consult with him before starting on any diet to lower your cholesterol numbers.
Total Cholesterol
The first number your doctor may report to you is your total serum cholesterol number. This is the amount of cholesterol that is in your blood, and it is a blanket indicator of your cholesterol level. The American Heart Association recommends that this number to be less than 200 mg/dl to lower your risk for heart disease. A reading of 200 mg/dl to 239 mg/dl is considered borderline, and anything above 240 mg/dl has more than twice the risk of heart disease than someone with a normal total cholesterol reading.
Bad Cholesterol -- LDL
Low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, is the bad cholesterol that forms plaque on the walls of arteries and causes heart disease. The normal range for this is less than 100 mg/dl, according to the American Heart Association. Near optimal is 100 mg/dl to 129 mg/dl, and 130 mg/dl to 159 mg/dl is considered borderline high. From 160 mg/dl to 189 mg/dl is considered high, while anything above 190 mg/dl is considered very high. It is important to keep this number as low as possible to avoid the risk of heart disease.
Good Cholesterol -- HDL
High-density lipoprotein, or HDL, is commonly referred to as good cholesterol. This cholesterol works against LDL and helps to keep the artery walls free of plaque. It brings cholesterol back to the liver for processing. According to the American Heart Association, a reading of 60 mg/dl and above is considered a good measure against heart disease. Levels less than 40 mg/dl for men and 50 mg/dl for women can put you at risk for coronary artery disease.
Triglycerides
Triglycerides are another form of cholesterol that circulates in the body and can indicate your level of risk for cardiovascular disease. This number will be high if your other numbers are high as well. A triglyceride level under 150 mg/dl is considered normal, according to the American Heart Association. A level from 150 mg/dl to 199 mg/dl is borderline high, and 200 mg/dl to 499 mg/dl is high. Anything above 500 mg/dl is very high. Triglycerides can be high due to lifestyle factors, such as smoking, obesity, lack of exercise or alcoholism.
Low-Cholesterol Nutrition
Although trouble with your cholesterol can be caused by genetic factors, there are lifestyle measures you can take that will help improve your cholesterol. The most important tool in your arsenal is your diet. Dietary fats are critical to controlling your cholesterol. It is important to eat good fats, such as monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats, and to stay away from saturated and trans fats. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, studies have shown that merely lowering fat is not the key to protecting against heart disease: it is about eating the correct fats. That means switching out saturated and trans fats for healthy unsaturated fats. Eating good fat lowers your risk of heart disease.
