What should my cholesterol level be, or what is a good cholesterol level? We hear a lot about what should my cholesterol level be and with good reason. It’s important to know your cholesterol level because high levels of bad cholesterol can lead to heart disease.

Heart disease is, without doubt, the single biggest killer in the world, it is also known as cardiovascular disease (angina, heart attack, or stroke)the best way to prevent a heart attack is to make sure your cholesterol is kept at a good healthy level, so what should my cholesterol level be?

200 mg/ dl or less is the desired level
239 mg/dl is on the border
240 mg/dl is too high

What is the difference between mmol/l and mg/dl?

In the United States your blood cholesterol level is measured in mg/dl or milligrams per decilitre but in the United Kingdom and Europe blood cholesterol level is measured in mmol/I or mill moles per liter.
How do you convert your blood cholesterol levels mmol/l to mg/dl?
Use this formula, mg/dl Cholesterol=38.6xmmol/l
mmol Cholesterol ÷ 38.6 mg/dl

How to convert your blood Triglyceride levels

Use this formula, Triglyceride mg/dl = 88.5 x mmol/l
Triglyceride mmol/l ÷ 88.5

Is it a fat?

It is a kind of fat that is present in your blood; we do need a certain amount of cholesterol for example to facilitate hormone production.

As we age plaque can form in our arteries which may narrow or block the blood flow.

In this case, a heart attack may follow, if the blood flow to the brain becomes affected the brain may become damaged (stroke).

High cholesterol is one of the main causes of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) so it is really important to have healthy cholesterol.

Two types

HDL (high-density lipoprotein) is called good cholesterol or healthy cholesterol
because it clears up cholesterol in your blood vessels and brings it to the liver where it breaks down and passes from your body.
LDL (low-density lipoprotein): LDL goes from your liver to other parts of the body through your arteries.

Called bad cholesterol because it is like sticky Velcro as it clings to the walls of the arteries, this narrows the arteries and causes a reduction of blood flow to the heart and brain. Saturated fats don’t help because they can raise the bad cholesterol LDL.

Cholesterol levels:

A simple blood test will determine your cholesterol levels; here are the numbers to look for:
Cholesterol/ Triglyceride levels
Total cholesterol: Not more than 5 MMOL/1
LDL (bad cholesterol) Not more than 3 MMOL/1
HDL (good cholesterol) Not more than 1 MMOL/1
Triglycerides Not more than 2 MMOL/1

What is mmol?

Some medical tests report results in mill moles per liter (mmol/L). A mole describes a type of substance and usually has a big number 6 which has twenty-three zeros in atoms or molecules after that. . A mill mole is one multiplied by ten to the power of three.

How often should your cholesterol be checked?

Your cholesterol level should be checked at a minimum every 5 years once you reach the age of 20. However, medical experts do recommend that women and men over the age of 35 should undergo a blood screening test known as a lipid profile every year.

What does this lipid profile show?

It will include your total cholesterol numbers,

Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol LDL, (Bad cholesterol)

High-density lipoprotein cholesterol HDL, (Good Cholesterol)

Triglycerides: the fats in our blood that we get from our food.

Blood test results

The results of your cholesterol blood test will be in number form. The numbers on their own are not enough information as to whether you are at risk of a heart attack or stroke or not.

Your doctor will need to look at the bigger picture to give an opinion on the risk of heart disease.

Other risk factors include blood pressure, whether you smoke or not, your age, and your family history.

Statin drugs for lowering cholesterol

Statin drugs are regularly prescribed by the medical profession as a way to lower your cholesterol levels. In doing so the statins may help to reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke. Some studies have shown that statin drugs have reduced the risk of stroke and heart attack by up to as much as 25%-30% in some patients.

Which statin drugs are used?

In the United States, the most common statin drugs are
Pitavastatin (Livalo)
Rosuvastatin (Crestor)
Pravastatin (Pravachol)
Lovastatin Altoprev,Mevacor)
Fluvastatin (Lescol XL. Lescol)
Atorvastatin (Lipitor)

Drugs for heart disease

According to MD and Holistic Physician Robert Rountree, it’s been established that by taking statins you can lower your risk of a heart attack or stroke, however, some new research has shown that statin drugs decrease inflammation which is now more accepted as the primary cause of heart disease.

So if this is true people must know the side effects statin drugs have on cholesterol such as muscle pain and liver damage, it is equally important to know all the dangers of long-term use of statin drugs

There are natural alternatives to statin drugs or ways to lower cholesterol without statin drugs. These include lifestyle changes, diet changes, and the use of supplements.

Let’s say that you have been taking statin drugs for several years and you may have read about the possible side effects of taking statins for a long period and you are willing to look at a natural alternative with guidance from your health professional, then anything is possible.

Make an informed decision

Statin drugs versus natural alternatives

According to MD Mark Houston Director of the Hypertension Institute of Nashville, statins do reduce LDL cholesterol (Bad cholesterol) bad cholesterol is known to build up plaque inside the artery walls and in turn, leads to a heart attack.

By doing this the underlying problem hasn’t been addressed chronic inflammation damaged the artery wall caused by high blood pressure, chronic inflammation, autoimmune disorders, and blood pressure.

Simply treating the high cholesterol should be part of the bigger picture but the inflammation needs to be tackled before this, learning what should my cholesterol level be is part of the bigger picture.

What is inflammation?

Inflammation is the body’s way of trying to heal itself from a foreign invader, our body’s immune system reacts to injury or infection by creating inflammation at the site of the infection or injury.

It is our bodies telling the immune system to repair and heal the damaged area, it also works to shut out viruses and bacteria.

Inflammation is generally a good thing if we didn’t have inflammation injuries or infections would get much worse or even kill us.

Problems arise when our bodies respond by creating inflammation that goes on for a long time or if the inflammation goes to places where it isn’t required then it could turn into chronic inflammation which is associated with cardiovascular diseases like heart disease or stroke.

Too much inflammation in the wrong place for too long can also cause autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, some factors that can help with inflammation are a healthy diet and regular exercise.

How do you treat inflammation in your body?

There are many ways to treat inflammation, your doctor will prescribe anti-inflammatories, but long-term use of these does come with side effects, people nowadays are looking for a more natural way to treat inflammation. 

Conclusion

I  sincerely that you have enough information on the subject of what should my cholesterol level be, it’s important to know because high cholesterol levels are strongly associated with heart disease. Cholesterol levels can be kept under control by diet, exercise, reading symptoms, and prescribed medications like statins, there are natural alternatives to statins if you don’t like the side effects.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22037012

What dissolves plaque from arteries naturally?

Support healthy cholesterol with delta-tocotrienols