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Home Remedies Types of Cholesterol

Types of Cholesterol and Cholesterol Ratios


The two main types of cholesterol are HDL and LDL. Others are VLDL and triglycerides. Before we go into the details of each type of cholesterol let us first understand how cholesterol flows into the blood stream

Our body is capable of producing the required cholesterol to make hormones, bile acids and vitamin D. These are the main functions of cholesterol.

Cholesterol is produced in the lever. From there it gets attached to a protein and move in the blood stream. This combination of cholesterol and protein package is called lipoprotein.

These are classified as High Density Lipoproteins (HDL), Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL), or Very Low Density Lipoproteins (VLDL) depending on the protein contents in relation to the fat.

Both LDL and VLDL are bad cholesterol. Large amount of LDL in the blood can build up plaque in the arteries.  The arteries get clogged and probabilities of heart disease increase.  

VLDL also does the same damage but the protein contain is less therefore it takes longer to build the plaques. Triglycerides are the fat that is carried by VLDL. High amount of triglycerides can lead to diabetes, heart and kidney diseases.

HDL is the good type of cholesterol. It helps removing LDL and other bad cholesterol from the blood stream. Higher the amount of HDL in the blood better it is for the health.

It therefore becomes important to maintain an ideal of HDL to LDL for healthy living.

Cholesterol is measured in milligrams per deciliter of blood. Total cholesterol should not exceed 220 ml/dl for healthy living.
Following are guidelines for cholesterol levels in adults.  A regular checkup (once in 2-5 years depending on your age) is necessary to reduce the probabilities of heart attacks. Early detection can help in controlling it.
Total Cholesterol below 180 ml/dl is ideal. 180-199 is acceptable and 200-219 is considered borderline. Anything above 220 is high cholesterol.
Ideal value for HDL should be above 50 ml/dl. Anything below 35 ml/dl is too low. 36-49 are acceptable levels of HDL.
In terms of LDL any value below 130 ml/dl is good. And any value above 160 is considered too high.

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