Cholesterol Level Scale Helps Measure Cholesterol Numbers in Blood Samples

To measure the cholesterol numbers in a blood sample, one uses the cholesterol level scale that is compared with cholesterol charts forms. Regardless of the cholesterol level scale or cholesterol charts given by doctors, it will nevertheless, help to measure total cholesterol, LDL (bad) cholesterol, HDL (good) cholesterol, triglycerides as well as cholesterol ratios. Cholesterol is a form of fat called lipid that bodies require to make sex hormones as well as for other tasks. Total cholesterol means the number of cholesterol found in the blood and to have total cholesterol level of less than 200 is most desirable. The 200 cholesterol level scale is targeted towards today's American diets that are high in fat and carbohydrates.

Understanding the Cholesterol Level Scale

In the case of LDL cholesterol levels, one should aim for a number of 130 or less, and anything higher would put the person at risk for heart attack and stroke due to it contributing to building up on arterial walls. HDL or high density lipoproteins that are termed as good cholesterol carries away cholesterol from the arteries back to the liver where it is prepared for elimination from the body. A cholesterol level scale for HDL that is higher than 50 is desirable, but one should aim to reach sixty as at that level more bad cholesterol gets cleaned out from the arterial walls.

Triglycerides, simply put, is what is known as fat and when one grabs a handful of tummy or some other fat storage one is grabbing triglycerides. They differ from cholesterol in that they get burnt for energy or can be stored in the fat stores of the body for later usage. The cholesterol level scale of 200 is on the high side and one should aim for a sub 150 levels which indicate less fat in the stomach.

The ratio of HDL to LDL and total cholesterol is thought to be more important than total cholesterol when it comes to predicting heart attacks, heart disease, stroke and more. This ratio helps tell us whether there is extra cholesterol stored in the cells and if the amount of cholesterol is being broken down for elimination from the body. The ideal ratio of total cholesterol should be less than four, while 3.5 cholesterol level scales are most desirable, 3.0 is excellent, and 2.6 is amazing. Those who achieve a ratio between 2.4 and 2.8 may actually get to experience a reversal of heart disease.