Cholesterol Levels, Cholesterol Numbers & Range

Details on blood cholesterol levels and numbers and their harmful effect on body. What value is a healthy level? Know different cholesterol ranges as given on this page.

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What is Cholesterol?

Blood Cholesterol is an essential substance in our bodies for good health. It is a white, waxy compound called sterols, present in every cell of the body. It is produced by our body for several purposes. Cholesterol is essential for the development of our hormones and brain function. The result of not having enough cholesterol is depression and irritability.

In some people cholesterol is produced more than is required by the body, especially when the diet contains saturated fats. Saturated fats in the diet force the body to make too much cholesterol. The dietary cholesterol is found only in animal products. Saturated fats are found both in animal and vegetable foods and dairy products.

Cholesterol Levels, Cholesterol Numbers

In adults, a blood cholesterol level below 200 mg/dl is considered to be desirable. Blood cholesterol is of two main categories: High density Lipoproteins (HDL) and Low density lipoproteins (LDL). People with a high HDL cholesterol levels have low incidence of heart disease. HDL is a sort of cleaner that clean the deposit of fats in the blood arteries. HDL is improved with regular exercise and eating low fat foods. The cholesterol to HDL ratio is rather more important than the individual values of HDL and LDL.

Well, Congratulations! Normal Cholesterol Level: Total cholesterol less than 200 mg/dL and HDL-cholesterol (good cholesterol) 40 mg/dL or greater.

Get Your Lipoprotein Profile: Total cholesterol less than 200 mg/dL and HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol) less than 40 mg/dL.

Get Your Lipoprotein Profile: Total cholesterol 240 mg/dL and above, regardless of HDL-cholesterol level

See for other risk factors: Total cholesterol between 200 to 239 mg/dL and HDL-cholesterol (good cholesterol) 40 mg/dL or greater.

Levels of LDL cholesterol:

A desirable LDL cholesterol level is less than 130 mg/dL
A borderline-high risk level is from 130 to 158 mg/dL
High risk is 160 mg/dL and above.

Recently, the recommendation is that the hdl ldl cholesterol ratio is as important as individual levels of HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. In the table below you will notice the cholesterol level values in two different cholesterol units mmol/L &mg/dL.

Healthy Cholesterol Levels, Numbers & Ranges

Total Cholesterol Level Desirable: Less than 200 mg/dL or 5.17 mmol/L Borderline high risk: 200–239 mg/dL or 5.17-6.2 mmol/L High risk: 240 mg/dL or 6.2 mmol/L and over

LDL Cholesterol Level Less value of LDL cholesterol is better. Desirable Levels of LDL cholesterol: Less than 130 mg/dL or 3.35 mmol/L Borderline high risk of LDL cholesterol: 130-158 mg/dL or 3.35-4.0 mmol/L High risk of LDL cholesterol: 160 mg/dL or 4.15 mmol/L and over

HDL Cholesterol Level High value of HDL cholesterol is better. Desirable Levels of HDL cholesterol: more than 40 mg/dL or 1.04 mmol/L.

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