Cholesterol results: The most important thing to look at.
As with almost everything related to the human body, we need balance. Too much or too little of something is usually a recipe for disaster. Our bodies strive for homeostasis and cholesterol levels fall into this category as well.
We NEED cholesterol for very important operations in our body:
the production of hormones like oestrogen, testosterone, and progesterone,
the production of bile salts to aid in the digestion / absorption of fat soluable vitamins.
The production of vitamin D which is essential for immunity and bone health
For creating and sustaining the outer lining of our cells
For supporting the activation and proliferation of the T cells in our immune system
Like we discussed last week, the international guidelines for total and LDL cholesterol are as follows
Total:
Borderline high: 200-239 mg/dL
High: over 240 mg/dL
LDL:
Optimal: below 100 mg/dL
Borderline high: 130-159 mg/dL
High: 160-189 mg/dL
Very High: over 190 mg/dL
Plaque build up in your cardiovascular system is made up of LDL cholesterol that has become oxidized and cellular waste products, calcium, and fibrin.
It has been the recommendation of doctors for years (as shown above) to keep the LDL and in turn total cholesterol low to reduce the risk of plaque formation and in turn heart disease.
It makes sense right? The lower numbers of LDL cholesterol flowing through your system, the lower risk of developing plaque.
Not quite: New research is coming to light that dropping all cholesterol levels to keep them in the optimal range is not better at reducing your risk of a heart attack.
The BMJ published research in 2020 with findings that the optimal level of LDL associated with living longer was actually 139 mg/dl . In this research the cautionary tale for a shorter lifespan was for extreme numbers on EITHER range (very low or very high levels). Thoughts for the possibility of these results going against the current recommendations for LDL come down to the immune system benefits of having higher levels of cholesterol AND the main source of plaque build up being inflammation, not cholesterol
So what do we want to look for with Cholesterol?
Total Cholesterol to HDL ratio
We know that too much LDL is still an issue and that too little is also an issue, we need things to be balanced between LDL and HDL. How do we know if we are balanced? So when we look at cholesterol numbers, the key thing to look for is the total cholesterol to HDL ratio as an indicator of heart health with the goal of keeping that ratio below 4 with an optimal goal of 3. How do we determine this ratio?
Let’s use the following example
Total Cholesterol 231 (considered borderline high)
HDL 79 (optimal)
To determine ratio: 231 / 79 = 2.92
Ratio: 3 (optimal)
