We know high cholesterol is bad, but what is a good level? At my age, what should my cholesterol be? Learn more here.
While high cholesterol is bad for your health, this means different things for different people. There are various factors to consider when measuring your levels including age, weight, and gender.
Moreover, there are three categories in measuring cholesterol: total, HDL, and LDL cholesterol. Having a good amount of HDL cholesterol is beneficial, while the opposite is true of LDL and total cholesterol.
Age and Cholesterol
As people age, their levels increase along with their year, which is why preventing high levels is important. However, children are less likely to have high cholesterol, so they only need to check their levels once or twice.
There are exceptions, of course, such as when the child has risk factors for high levels like their family history. Furthermore, men are likelier to develop high levels as they age, while women are likelier to develop it after menopause.
Cholesterol Levels
Typically, healthy adults don’t see a lot of variation in normal levels. Exceptions include health conditions and other considerations that may change the recommended levels.
Healthy Levels for Adults
Adults should have total cholesterol levels lower than 200 mg/dL, with readings between 200 and 239 mg/dL being borderline high and 240 mg/dL and above being high.
LDL levels lower than 100 mg/dL are healthy and readings between 100 to 129 mg/dL are generally acceptable. Moreover, 130 to 159 mg/dL is borderline high, 160 to 189 is high and 190+ is very high.
HDL levels are the opposite and should be 60 mg/dL or higher. Furthermore, 41 to 59 mg/dL is borderline low and anything less is considered a major heart disease risk factor
Healthy Levels for Children
On the other hand, healthy levels in children are different than for adults.
For example, an acceptable range of total cholesterol is less than 170 mg/dL. Moreover, readings between 170 and 199 mg/dL are borderline high and anything 200 or above is considered too high.
When it comes to LDL levels, the optimal range in children should be lower than 110 mg/dL. Also, between 110 to 129 mg/dL is borderline high and anything over 130 mg/dL is high.
Tips for Lowering Cholesterol
If you want to decrease your total and LDL cholesterol while increasing your HDL levels, then live a healthy lifestyle. This means you need to be physically active while also eating foods that won’t negatively impact your levels.
There are various exercises you can do and even follow certain diets that will specifically improve your cholesterol. Moreover, you can take a supplement like L-arginine Plus that will improve your overall heart health.
Its ingredients work to boost your nitric oxide, resulting in better circulation, oxygen transport, and improved cholesterol. Take L-arginine Plus along with a healthy diet and regular exercise to effectively promote your overall health.