Cholesterol level scale and cholesterol charts.

To understand what those cholesterol numbers mean you need to understand first the terms LDL, HDL, triglycerides, total cholesterol and cholesterol ratios.

Below you'll find a cholesterol level scale or cholesterol charts outlining the cholesterol numbers guidelines. After that you'll find a detailed explanation of the cholesterol level scale and cholesterol charts for each of cholesterol numbers.

The cholesterol numbers are measured in milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl). This is just for your information, but it doesn't really have to bother you and your understanding.

National Cholesterol Education Program Cholesterol Guidelines
	Desirable	Borderline High	High
Total Cholesterol	Less than 200	200 - 239	240 and higher
LDL Cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol)	Less than 130	130 - 159	160 and higher
HDL Cholesterol (the "good" cholesterol)	50 and higher	40 - 49	Less than 40
Triglycerides	Less than 200	200 - 399	400 and higher

Cholesterol level scale – Total cholesterol.

Cholesterol is a type of fat (lipid) that your body needs for example your body needs cholesterol to make sex hormones (not bad to have after all).

As the name says, total cholesterol is the number of all the cholesterol found in the blood. Even though you can see from the table above that it is desirable to have total cholesterol less than 200 it is best to aim for 180 and below.

The 200 cholesterol level scale is for the today's American diet, which is high in fat and carbohydrates. These are the two main culprits of high cholesterol. The 200 number is prescribed having in view a normal American diet, which is not normal anyway.

You need to consider that even a light fat and carbohydrates American diet is still a high fat and carbohydrates diet as compared to other countries in the world. So, aim for 180 and below for total cholesterol level scale.

Cholesterol level scale – LDL "bad" cholesterol.

	Desirable	Borderline High	High
LDL Cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol)	Less than 130	130 - 159	160 and higher

LDL Cholesterol, is called the bad cholesterol, because it is responsible for depositing cholesterol on arterial walls. A high level of LDL increases your risk of heart attack and stroke. Remember that this is the cholesterol to lower.

As you can see from the cholesterol level scale above, you must aim for a number of 130 or less. It is self-explanatory that if you go above 130, it is a high risk for heart attack and stroke, since it builds up on arterial walls.

To find a solution that lowers your LDL cholesterol as well as total cholesterol, click here.

Cholesterol level scale – HDL "good" cholesterol.

	Desirable	Borderline High	High
HDL Cholesterol (the "good" cholesterol)	50 and higher	40 - 49	Less than 40

HDL cholesterol is the good cholesterol. It carries away cholesterol from the arteries back to the liver where it is prepared for elimination from the body. The higher your HDL cholesterol level scale, the more cholesterol can be eliminated from your body and the lower your risk of heart attack.

While you see from the cholesterol level scale table above that 50 is a desirable level, aim for 60, since it will clean more of your bad cholesterol from the arterial walls.

Cholesterol level scale – Triglycerides.

	Desirable	Borderline High	High
Triglycerides	Less than 200	200 - 399	400 and higher

Triglycerides are, for simplification, what we call "fat". When you grab a handful of tummy, love handles or some other fat storage, you are grabbing triglycerides. However, unlike cholesterol, they are burned for energy or else stored in the body's fat stores to be used later.

Again, do take the 200 number in the cholesterol level scale above with a grain of salt. It is best to have triglycerides levels below 150. That means less fat in your tummy.

Cholesterol level scale – Cholesterol ratios.

Blood Cholesterol Ratios
_	Protective	Warning
Total Cholesterol / HDL	Less than 4.2	4.3 and higher
LDL / HDL	Less than 2.5	2.6 and higher

In Protein Power, Michael and Mary Eades write that this ratio of HDL to LDL and total cholesterol, is actually more important then total cholesterol in predicting heart attack, heart disease, stroke, arteriosclerosis, coronary heart disease, coronary artery disease and other cardiovascular diseases.

These numbers help tell us whether more cholesterol is being stored in our cells or else is being broken down and removed from our body. That's why you can see heart attacks in people that have low total cholesterol levels. Their ratio HDL is low as well, and as a result their ratio is high.

To determine these ratios for yourself, simply divide your total cholesterol and LDL numbers by your HDL number.

The ratios of total cholesterol to HDL should be below 4 as a general rule for both men and women. However a very good ratio is 3.5, excellent is 3.0 and fantastic is 2.6.

If you can get your ratio down between 2.4 and 2.8, you can actually experience a reversal of heart disease. To find out a solution that can reduce LDL to HDL cholesterol level scale ratio by 23 percent, click here.