Simplified cholesterol numbers

Whenever you have a physical it is a good idea to have a blood sample taken for a lipid profile. Heart disease is the number one cause of death in America, and cholesterol promoted atherosclerosis is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease. A lipid profile measures the levels of the different types of cholesterol in your blood.

In a previous post, I described the cholesterol numbers in some detail. However, yesterday I came across the following video which presents these numbers in a simpler fashion. Sometimes simple is better. The doctor recommends the following cholesterol levels for a healthy individual:

1. TC < 200
2. LDL < 100 
3. HDL > 60 
4. Non HDL < 130 
5. TG < 150

TC = total cholesterol, LDL = "bad" cholesterol, HDL = good cholesterol, Non HDL = Non HDL cholesterol i.e. TC - HDL, TG = triglycerides.

If you do not reach these levels, then you should talk to your doctor about whether you need to make modifications in your lifestyle/diet, or in more serious cases, take medication like statins. It may be worthwhile to calculate your CVD (cardiovascular disease) risk as recommended by the new cholesterol and heart disease guidelines.

It is important to keep track of your cholesterol numbers.

Video 1. Doctor describes the recommended cholesterol levels for a healthy individual.