subject: Cholesterol Ratio – Discover Why Your Cholesterol Ratio is More Important Than Your Total Figure [print this page] Author: Reuben Hopkins Author: Reuben Hopkins
With so much talk about total cholesterol levels, it would be easy to think that only this figure is important. However the cholesterol ratio between your good and bad levels is more relevant for an accurate diagnosis. Your bad cholesterol is known as LDL and can lead to hardening of the arteries and heart disease. Your good one is called HDL and basically helps to remove excess LDL. A good cholesterol ratio is 3:1 LDL to HDL and an excellent one is around 2:1 to give you a general guide. So the more HDL you have, the healthier you will be. It is still important to have a total figure of less than 200 mg/dl and definitely no more than 240mg/dl, but you want to lower your bad levels while increasing your good ones ideally. When you have a test done, make sure you get both of these levels and also your triglycerides ones too as they are also important to keep in check. If you have a good cholesterol ratio, you may not need any treatment at all, check with your doctor first but always try to avoid the harmful statin drugs as the first choice. These are handed out far too routinely and can have some very serious side effects including increasing your risk of a heart attack. This is because they deplete an important enzyme called CoQ10 which helps to produce energy in all of the body's cells and in particular the heart. The first line of defence should be natural to work with your body and not against it and some of the best nutrients like Policosanol, D-Limonene, Phytosterols and Rice Bran oil are just as effective as the statin drugs but have no harmful side effects. Policosanol in particular has been shown to lower LDL levels significantly and also raise your HDL levels too to help achieve the right natural balance. Now you know the importance of your cholesterol ratio, you can concentrate on improving it as opposed to solely focussing on your total cholesterol figure and so help to avoid heart disease. If you would like to learn more about the high quality cholesterol balancing supplements I personally take, visit my website today.About the Author:
Reuben Hopkins is a dedicated researcher of nutrition, diet and the amazing health benefits of natural cholesterol balancing supplements. Take a moment to visit his site now at http://www.balanced-cholesterol.com and discover the latest supplements he recommends after extensive research.
