cholesterol

What Is Your Ideal Cholesterol Ratio

Cholesterol awareness has increased considerably in the past years after people of all age groups have reached the hospital in emergency conditions due to one reason only: high cholesterol. Now doctors make it a point to educate as much as possible their patients about the importance of understanding what is your ideal cholesterol ratio and maintaining it that way. Cholesterol is important for our body because it takes part in many vital functions such as, producing cell membrane, tissues and hormones. We have two main types of cholesterol and they are the low-density lipoprotein (LDL), which is considered bad in large quantities as it can clog the arteries, stop the blood flow and result in heart attack therefore it is known as the bad cholesterol.

Understanding Cholesterol

There is also the good cholesterol, which is the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and it helps to clean the bad cholesterol reducing our risks of clogging the arteries. Cholesterol is measured in milligrams (of the cholesterol) by deciliters (of blood found in our body), which will produce the cholesterol numbers. Usually the doctors will present you with a total of the two types of cholesterol unless you ask for separate numbers, which you may need if you are suffering from a heart disease.

What Is Your Ideal Cholesterol Ratio

Your ideal cholesterol ration can only be determined by your doctor, as he or she has to take in consideration your health history, present state of health, age and weight. However, the ideal cholesterol ratio of an average healthy adult (over the age of 20) is: LDL cholesterol maximum of 150mg/dL or less and HDL cholesterol minimum of 50mg/dL or more. These numbers will differ vastly if you have a heart related condition.

Helpful Tip

Find out your ideal cholesterol ratio and try to enforce the required measures to maintain it at those levels always in order to ensure you heart disease risks are at a minimum. Regular check ups are recommended with your doctor or through the convenient home cholesterol tests, which are known to provide accurate cholesterol ratio and with which you can always ensure you are in control

Healthy low cholesterol diet and exercise are essential steps towards the desired cholesterol ratio but if they are not sufficient consult your doctor for alternate methods such as traditional drugs to ensure you and your heart stay healthy. Natural supplements to lower and maintain cholesterol levels should not be excluded as they are often more powerful then traditional drugs and have no side effects.