How to Read Your Cholesterol Test
If you've had a blood lipoprotein test, you know the numbers and the ratios can be confusing. Some numbers are good, some are bad, and sometimes the ratio between the two cancel out the good or the bad news.
The Good:
The Good Cholesterol
High-density lipoproteins (HDL)
Levels of under 40 in men and under 50 in women are considered low. Levels of 60 or above are considered to be protective against heart disease in both sexes.
If you need to increase your HDL numbers, the good news is that eating monounsaturated fats will not only help increase your HDL, it will help lower the LDL - the bad cholesterol.
Foods that are high in monounsaturated fats include: avocados, nuts, and olive and other vegetable oils. The American Heart Association recommends that total fat consumption be less than 30 percent of your daily caloric intake and that when choosing fats, opting for monounsaturated fats over saturated or trans fat is helpful in improving all cholesterol levels.
The Bad:
The Bad Cholesterol
Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL)
At best, the LDL reading should be less than 100. Levels of 129 are considered borderline high and above 159 are considered high in both sexes.
The Ugly:
Chylomicrons - Although they carry small amounts of cholesterol, they are rich in triglycerides - another type of fat that is responsible for approximately 95 percent of our body's fatty tissue. Abnormally high readings of triglycerides produce higher risk factors of not only heart disease, but also diabetes, cirrhosis of the liver, hypothyroidism, and pancreatitis.
The Very Bad and the Very Ugly:
Very Low Density Lipoproteins (VLDL)
These are the very ugly guys as VKDL levels indicate very bad cholesterol. Although there is no direct way to measure VKDK cholesterol, according the Mayo clinic, the level is calculated as a percentage of triglyceride levels.
As triglyceride levels are reduced - the VLDL levels follow.
Foods that are high in the glycemic index are generally responsible for increasing triglycerides and therefore VLDL levels. These foods include simple carbohydrates such as table, fruit, and milk sugars. Most refined foods are high in simple carbohydrates. The simple way to consume more complex carbohydrates is to opt for fruits, vegetables, peas, beans and whole-grain foods over soft drinks, cakes, cookies, snack foods, and candy.
The Ratios
Some experts put more value on the ratios of LDL to HDL cholesterol than that of the total number in terms of predicting heart disease. It seems to hold water - as the higher HDL number would be considered as preventive of cardiac problems. Some, however, argue that the HDL number is a more important number in predicting heart disease in women. Research is constantly being done and information continues to be updated. As they say - stay tuned for more.
The bottom line is still to strive to increase the HDL levels while lowering the LDL number. These efforts usually decrease the overall cholesterol levels and most agree that is good news.
