I have high cholesterol: 227

I had my blood tested last week. Today, my copy of the results arrived in the mail. Some of the numbers were a bit high. Here are the major players:

Cholesterol: 227 (high). It should be < 200. I think this is the reference everyone talks about. It's really the sum of the bad cholesterol LDL + the good cholesterol HDL.

LDL: 151 (high). It should be < 100. This is the bad cholesterol and stands for Low Density Lipoprotein. I've certainly been eating lots of fatty stuff and been using a lot of butter in my foods for a while. It sure shows.

HDL: 75 (high, but a good high). Normally between 32 to 72. Stands for High Density Lipoprotein. I think the aerobic exercise had helped a lot with bringing this number up.

Triglyceride: 82 (good). Should be < 150.

Weird thing, but the high level of HDL good cholesterol offsets the other bad numbers and still puts me in the 'lowest risk' group, according to the results summary. My risk for heart disease is determined by the following formula:

CHOL / HDL = 227 / 75 = 3.0

A chol/hdl ratio of less than 3.5 is considered 'lowest risk'. Still, I'd say my overall cholesterol level is unhealthy, especially the LDL level. I guess it's best that I try to better my diet and exercise. The results were certainly motivating.