Normal cholesterol 200mg?
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For most doctors, acceptable cholesterol levels are anything that's below 300mg -- depending upon certain other risk factors -- typically, the lower the LDL, and the higher the HDL, the less likely you are to have heart problems.
My cholesterol is a steady 99mg. I find it a challenge to believe that 1/2 of all americans are dying of cholesterol clogged arteries, and I'd like to see your sources for that information.
For strokes and heart attacks there are a number of risk factors well beyond cholesterol. A person whose cholesterol level is 450mg may well live to be 80 or 90 years old, if that person remains healthy, otherwise (exercises, gets adequate fiber, multi-vitamins).
I think that your statistics are flawed.
Depending on your age and family history keep it around or below 170 would be my answer.
I will assume you are referring to total cholesterol.
My physician informed me last year that what is more important than the absolute total cholesterol is the LDL:HDL ratio.
For example, my total cholesterol is 220 mg/dL, which I know sounds high. But, my LDL is 130 and HDL is 90, giving me a ratio of approximately 1.4:1. Most Americans apparently have an LDL:HDL ratio of around 4:1 or 5:1. The ideal ratio is under 3:1. This means as per my doctor, I have high cholesterol, but my heart is nonetheless very healthy.
So, there are different data to consider when you look at what constitutes healthy cholesterol levels. It appears that the ratio is just as important, if not more important, than the total (or just the LDL level). Since HDL ("good") is known to have a direct effect on removing LDL ("bad") from the arteries, this makes sense.
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