Are You Keeping Your Blood Cholesterol Range in a Healthy Range?

Keeping blood cholesterol in a healthy range is an important tool in preventing catastrophic illnesses such as heart attack or stroke. In the bigger picture establishing a health cholesterol range plays an important role in arterial disorders such as atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease.

The one thing all of the above conditions have in common, besides the fact they are very serious, is that they seldom produce any noticeable symptoms until it is either too late or almost too late. Sure, if you are about to have a heart attack you may notice chest pains, tingling or numbness, shortness of breath, or excessive perspiration but arriving at these symptoms may have taken decades of eating foods that skyrocketed your cholesterol range in the stratosphere.

So knowing what may have lead to advanced stage arterial conditions combined with a better understanding of what a healthy or unhealthy cholesterol range really is, along with early testing, should be part of any comprehensive health and awareness plan.

Did you know that recent studies have found that arterial blockage caused by cholesterol deposits in the arteries can begin as early as the age of 3? Numbers like these have prompted the Natural Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) to recommend everyone age 20 or older to obtain a lipid profile after a 12 hour fast. This test measures total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides (re-engineered fat commonly used in cookies, crackers, and certain margarine).

Standard cholesterol range varies depending on both genetics and health risks. Let's first explore what the NCEP says about patients with any prior or current form of cardiovascular disease. For this demographic the guidelines are fairly rigid with LDL cholesterol range to be below 90 mg/dl. This target also applies to those with diabetes as well. There has been a recent revision to these standardized cholesterol levels which lowers the maximum LDL range downwards to 70 for those at high risk for heart attack. This number may be difficult to achieve through diet and exercise alone and may require a prescription medication (statin) to force levels down to the new cholesterol range.

For the average healthy person a total cholesterol range of 200 mg/dl or less is considered excellent with numbers as high as 225 mg/dl still being acceptable. As far as LDL (bad cholesterol) goes a reading of 100 or less are considered very good with anything under 129 still falling into the acceptable range. And finally for HDL (good cholesterol) a reading of 60 or above is considered excellent with anything above 45 being marginally acceptable.

Some experts believe that the relationship between LDL and HDL along with the size of LDL molecules is more important than cholesterol range readings. Most agree that if your LDL to HDL ratio is less than 2 to 1 and your LDL particles are large you will be at less risk of heart attack and stroke. Put in a different way, a lot of small LDL cholesterol particles floating around without enough HDL to clean them up is a formula for disaster!

For most a combination of a low saturated fat diet, exercise, and if needed a prescription medication or lowered-cholesterol.com natural cholesterol reducing supplement are the only tools needed to achieve a normal cholesterol range. As always consult with your doctor before making any dramatic changes in medication or implementing a strenuous exercise routine.

Rob D. Hawkins is an enthusiastic advocate for the use of safe and effective high quality alternative health products and natural living, with over 10 years experience in the field. Learn more about natural remedies and natural health at purchaseremedies.com Purchase Remedies.com.