The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (Cholesterol)

After living a plant based lifestyle for a few months I was actually excited to have my cholesterol tested. When I
received my results in the mail today I was confused and shocked.

Triglycerides 182 mg/dL Borderline High (not good)
HDL Cholesterol 24 mg/dL Low (not good)
LDL Cholesterol 89 mg/dL Low and very good

HDL cholesterol aka GOOD Cholesterol

> 60 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) are high. That’s good.
< 40 mg/dL are low. That’s bad.

In general, people with high HDL are at lower risk for heart disease. People with low HDL are at higher risk.

What Can I Do if my HDL Cholesterol Level Is Low? If your HDL is low, you can take several steps to boost your HDL level and reduce your heart disease risk:

Exercise. Aerobic exercise for 30 to 60 minutes on most days of the week can help pump up HDL.
Quit smoking. Tobacco smoke lowers HDL, and quitting can increase HDL levels. (I dont and never have smoked)
Keep a healthy weight. Besides improving HDL levels, avoiding obesity reduces risk for heart disease and multiple other health conditions. (Down 30 pounds, 30 more to go)

http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/hdl-cholesterol-the-good-cholesterol

LDL Cholesterol aka BAD Cholesterol

Expert groups define the levels of LDL cholesterol as follows:

< 100 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) is optimal.
100 to 129 mg/dL is near-optimal.
130 and 159 mg/dL is borderline high.
160 and 189 mg/dL is high.
190 mg/dL or more is very high.

http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/ldl-cholesterol-the-bad-cholesterol

Triglycerides

A blood test that measures your cholesterol also measures your triglycerides.
For a general idea about your triglycerides level, compare your test results to the following:

Normal is less than 150.
Borderline-high is 150 to 199.
High is 200 to 499.
Very high is 500 or higher.

What causes high triglycerides?
High triglycerides are usually caused by other conditions, such as:

Obesity.
Poorly controlled diabetes. (dont have)
An underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism). (my is normal)
Kidney disease.
Regularly eating more calories than you burn.
Drinking a lot of alcohol. (dont hardly drink)

Certain medicines may also raise triglycerides. These medicines include:

Tamoxifen.
Steroids.
Beta-blockers. (taking for high blood pressure)
Diuretics.
Estrogen.
Birth control pills.
In a few cases, high triglycerides also can run in families.

http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/tc/high-triglycerides-overview