How To Read Your Cholesterol Report: Knowing and understanding your cholesterol report is essential for maintaining heart health and lowering your chance of developing cardiovascular diseases. Your general well-being can be greatly impacted by your cholesterol levels, so it is important to correctly analyse your cholesterol report so you can make wise health-related decisions. 

What Is A Cholesterol Report?

A cholesterol report usually contains numerical values for total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides. You can make well-informed decisions about your health by analysing important metrics like total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglycerides, as well as taking into account your lifestyle and specific risk factors. You can lower your risk of cardiovascular disease and maintain optimal cholesterol levels by combining dietary modifications with medical advice and routine monitoring.

How To Read Your Cholesterol Report Correctly? 

In an Instagram post, Celebrity Nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar explained how individuals should read their cholesterol report in the right way. She said, “A confusion that people who exercise regularly often face is that their total cholesterol number is high-ish. But this is often because exercise directly impacts HDL/high-density lipoprotein, the cardio-protective cholesterol. But this often comes with Triglycerides & VLDL (risk factors) being well under-checked. This is the “athlete’s paradox”, the kind of report that recreational athletes (people who exercise regularly but don’t compete) see.”

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She further said,” On the other hand, people who are not exercising may observe that all their numbers are “normal” but lack of exercise, poor sleep, irregular eating habits, will cost you in the long run.”

 
 
 
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A post shared by Rujuta Diwekar (@rujuta.diwekar)

Nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar suggested that you should not check numbers unless you have been specifically asked to. One should not forget that clinical correlations (not just with habits) but with other factors like HbA1c, TSH, Liver enzymes, BP, etc are critical before arriving at decisions. If someone is just reading your report and telling you what to do without clinically examining you, you are likely to be misguided. Normal cholesterol levels with low HDL and high TG remain a risk.

Interpreting Your Cholesterol Report

Total Cholesterol: Less than 200 mg/dL is the optimal level of total cholesterol. Levels of 240 mg/dL or above are classified as high, whereas those between 200 and 239 mg/dL are regarded as borderline high. An imbalance between LDL and HDL cholesterol levels may be indicated by high total cholesterol.

Right Way To Read Cholesterl Report (Image Credits: Canva)

LDL Cholesterol: An LDL level of fewer than 100 mg/dL is the ideal cholesterol level for the majority of people. While readings between 130 and 159 mg/dL are borderline high, those between 100 and 129 mg/dL are almost ideal. High levels are defined as 160 mg/dL or above and extremely high levels have the potential to greatly raise the risk of heart disease.

HDL Cholesterol: Higher HDL cholesterol levels contribute to good heart health. Having HDL levels of 60 mg/dL or higher may protect against heart disease. On the other hand, a low HDL level - 40 mg/dL for males and 50 mg/dL for women is linked to an increased risk of heart disease.

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