Understanding the Cholesterol Ratio

Cholesterol is one of the hot topics in health today. Everyone understands that cholesterol is something to be avoided. High cholesterol can lead to heart problems, heart diseases or heat attacks. It increases blood pressure and your risk for a stroke. But what about good cholesterol? Is there such a thing? And if so, what's the difference? The key to understanding and managing your cholesterol levels is the cholesterol ratio.

A cholesterol ratio is used by doctors and cholesterol technicians to determine the amound of total cholesterol and what's called HDL cholesterol in your blood. The HDL stands for high-density lipoprotein, and what this means is that it is the good "cholesterol". What does good cholesterol even mean? What makes it so good? Well, the "bad" cholesterol, if there is too much of it can lead to all of the complications I listed above. But HDL cholesterol can cause those problems too - if you have too little of it. That's why you need a balance. And you can understand the balance by finding the cholesterol ratio.

Because everyone is different, cholesterol levels don't tell the whole story. A taller and larger man might have a higher cholesterol level than a shorter woman, for instance. But just the level doesn't tell the whole story - circulation, physical fitness and metabolism are just some of the factors that can determine what you body does with its cholesterol level. Regardless, everyone can agree that it is far better to have good cholesterol than bad cholesterol. So then, your cholesterol ratio is going to be the amount of good cholesterol you have in out of all your total cholesterol level. In fact, most doctors agree that the cholesterol ratio is a very helpful predictor of what your risk for heart disease is.

Cholesterol in your blood is measured by the amount of milligrams in your blood per deciliter of blood. Perhaps, your total cholesterol level is at 250 milligrams per deciliter and your good cholesterol level is at 50 milligrams per deciliter. This puts your cholesterol ratio at 5 to 1. This cholesterol ratio is actually a pretty good one. The lower the cholesterol ratio, the lower the risk of heart disease.

No matter if you're talking about your heart, your blood or your cholesterol ratio, it's important to remember that the key to good health is balance. If you can keep your cholesterol ratio under 5 to 1 and improve other facets of your health, you have a great chance at avoiding heart disease and other illnesses.