Normal Levels of cholesterol.

Normal levels of cholesterol, need to be found in LDL, HDL, total cholesterol and cholesterol ratios. And the cholesterol numbers are measured in milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl).

Now, you'd have to know, that to find out what are your cholesterol levels, you need to have a blood test. You can check with your doctor about this.

After your blood test do not get too much alarmed if your total cholesterol level is higher than normal. You need to understand the correlation of total cholesterol, LDL and HDL to the cholesterol ratio, which is explained below.

• Total normal levels of cholesterol should be under 200. 200 to 239 is borderline high; and 240 and higher is considered high.

• LDL normal levels of cholesterol, or "bad" cholesterol, should be under 130. If it's between 160 and 189, it's high, and if it's 190 or more, it's very high.

• HDL normal levels of cholesterol, should be over 40, and the higher, the better, because it helps protect against clogging of the arteries. The best would be to have it at about 60.

• Triglycerides, another fatty substance that increase the risk of heart disease and stroke, are too high if they're over 150.

• The normal levels of cholesterol ratio.

  Probably the most importand factor for normal levels of cholesterol is the cholesterol ratio. 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 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 normal levels of cholesterol ratios for 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.

  Whereas the normal levels of cholesterol ratios of LDL to HDL should be less than 2.5. And remember that this is the best indicator of risk of heart disease and stroke.

Reducing the amount of fats, especially saturated fats, in your diet may have an effect in reducing your blood cholesterol. Some people are able to control their cholesterol levels without any other help. But for many, diet alone will have little effect. Estimates are that 75% of people suffering from higher than normal levels of cholesterol are not able to use diet to control their cholesterol because their liver produces high amounts of cholesterol regardless of the dietary cholesterol intake.

Certainly you can use drugs to lower cholesterol. They are effective but their side effects are very undesirable at the least, and death causing at the worst. (That's why Bayer withdrew "voluntarily" Baycol, since there were a number of deaths due to usage of Baycol)

You need to use clinically proven supplements, that have lowered cholesterol. For example, policosanol which is a safe and natural extract from sugar cane wax, has been clinically proven to lower cholesterol by at least 14 percent.

Policosanol has been the subject of numerous clinical trials involving over 30,000 people and has been used by millions in other countries since 1993.

Policosanol works by helping the liver control its production and breakdown of cholesterol, as well as being a powerful antioxidant, preventing LDL oxidation.

Clinical studies show that policosanol is as effective as prescription drugs in lowering cholesterol levels, without their dangerous side effects.

See the tables below for specific trials comparing policosanol, with 3 different cholesterol lowering drugs.

Studies comparing Policosanol with popular cholesterol-lowering drugs: Policosanol vs. Lovastatin (Mevacor) Following a 6 week cholesterol-lowering diet, 53 diabetic patients took either 10 mg. of Policosanol or 20 mg. of Lovastatin daily for 12 weeks. Product: Lovastatin Policosanol Total Blood Cholesterol - reduced 14.0% 14.2% LDL Cholesterol - reduced 16.8% 20.4% HDL (good) Cholesterol - raised no change 7.5% LDL to HDL Ratio - reduced 14.9% 23.7% Comparative study of the efficacy and tolerability of policosanol and lovastatin in patients with hypercholesterolemia and noninsulin dependent diabetes mellitus. Crespo N, Illnait J, Mas R, Fernandez L, Fernandez J, Castano G. Enrique Cabrera Hospital, Havana, Cuba. Int J Clin Pharmacol Res 1999;19(4):117-27 Policosanol vs. Pravastatin (Pravachol) Following a 6 week cholesterol-lowering diet, elderly patients took either 10 mg. of Policosanol or Pravastatin daily for 8 weeks. Product: Pravastatin Policosanol Total Blood Cholesterol - reduced 11.8% 13.9% LDL Cholesterol - reduced 15.6% 19.3% HDL (good) Cholesterol - raised no change 18.4% LDL to HDL Ratio - reduced 18.9% 28.3% Total Cholesterol to HDL Ratio - reduced 15.7% 24.4% Triglycerides reduced no change 14.1% Effects of policosanol and pravastatin on lipid profile, platelet aggregation and endothelemia in older hypercholesterolemic patients. Castano G, Mas R, Arruzazabala ML, Noa M, Illnait J, Fernandez JC, Molina V, Menendez A. Medical Surgical Research Center, Havana, Cuba. Int J Clin Pharmacol Res 1999;19(4):105-16 Policosanol vs. Fluvastatin (Lescol) Following a 4 week cholesterol-lowering diet, 70 women, aged 60 to 80 years, took either 10 mg. of Policosanol or 20 mg. of Fluvastatin daily for 8 weeks. Product: Pravastatin Policosanol Total Blood Cholesterol - reduced 16.7% 19.3% LDL Cholesterol - reduced 22.9% 29.2% HDL (good) Cholesterol - raised 9.2% 19.8% Clinical Drug Investigation 2001; 21:103-13

And, what's more policosanol costs much cheaper than cholesterol lowering drugs. You can find it for less than US $30. Compare this with the price of cholesterol drugs below.

Save Money! These are the prices of one month supply of the most popular cholesterol lowering drugs.
Lipitor (30 - 20 mg. tablets)	$98.40
Lopid (60 - 600 mg. tablets)	$94.20
Mevacor (30 - 20 mg. tablets)	$75.00
Pravachol (30 - 20 mg. tablets)	$75.30
Zocor (30 - 20 mg. tablets)	$123.30

Finally, it wouldn't be fair if I did not let you know where to find a policosanol supplement to lower your cholesterol. For more information on policosanol and how it can lower your higher than normal levels of cholesterol by 14 percent, click here.