Knowledge Of The Normal Cholesterol Level Can Help You Stay Healthy

Cholesterol plays a vital role in keeping the body functioning. For example, it helps to give cells walls rigidity. It also helps to turn sunlight into vitamin E when it strikes the skin. Without cholesterol the body would be in trouble but you rarely hear about that. You are more likely to hear that cholesterol is bad for the body and is a contributing factor to the onset of diseases like atherosclerosis or even heart attacks. The distinction here is that cholesterol isn't bad for the body but too much cholesterol in the body is bad and can lead to the illnesses described and other complications.

It is believed that 80% of the cholesterol that the body needs is created in the liver. The rest is ingested with the food that we eat. When we eat too much or the wrong types of foods this can lead to too much cholesterol entering the body and the problems already described. This is why it is important to have a normal cholesterol level to stay healthy. This article will cover what a normal cholesterol level is and how you can get it.

Serious Health Concerns

As already described, high cholesterol levels for a prolonged period of time can lead to hardening of the arteries or atherosclerosis. It can also increase blood pressure as the heart has to work harder to push blood round the body that has clogged arteries. Plague on the arteries can also break off and precipitate a blood clot which may lead to a stroke.

So what is an ideal or normal cholesterol level ? The first aspect is to check the total amount of cholesterol which must never (for your good health) exceed 200 milligrams of cholesterol for every deciliter of blood (200mg/dl). A level below this mark means that you are enjoying normal cholesterol level. Between 200 mg/dl and 239 mg/dl is on the borderline and should motivate remedial action. Anything over this level is considered to be high risk and action should be taken immediately to lower the level. Total cholesterol of course refers to the presence of both good and bad cholesterol.

When studying a cholesterol reading, it is the level of bad cholesterol that is of greater importance as bad cholesterol (LDL or low density lipoprotein) is thought to be the cause behind many of the health conditions previously described. For instance, LDL cholesterol is the substance that sticks to the artery walls causing atherosclerosis. Good cholesterol (high density lipoprotein or HDL cholesterol) on the other hand is considered to be beneficial to a person’s health because it returns cholesterol to the liver where it can be excreted.

Normal cholesterol level in regard to bad cholesterol means ensuring that your bad cholesterol level does not exceed 100 milligrams per deciliter of blood. A reading between 100 and 129 mg/dl is almost optimal while anything between 130 and 159 is borderline and over 159 is considered to be high risk.

Before things get out of hand in regard to normal cholesterol level it will pay to learn how to maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Having high levels of good cholesterol is advantageous while having elevated levels of bad cholesterol can put a person’s health under severe pressure. To keep normal cholesterol level requires eating healthy foods and moderate portions, exercising regularly,  quitting smoking and trying to reduce stress levels.