Understanding the numbers involved with cholesterol level test results can be confusing, to say the least. What do all those total cholesterol numbers mean, anyway? Well, I know it appears confusing; however, I will explain to you what all those numbers mean to you and your health.
When you visit the doctor for a blood cholesterol test, chances are that you are only listening for that magic number "200". If the number he tells you is lower than that, you feel ok; if it is much higher than 200 you may suddenly feel sick and short of breath. Well the magic number 200 is the total cholesterol number that is determined by a fairly simple mathematical formula.
Often when we visit the doctor our only concern is that, the number is below 200. For many years, that was the gold standard in cholesterol testing. If the number was 200 or lower, great. If it was higher than 200, you have got some problems. The doctor may tell you to get more exercise, lose some weight and start taking this new prescription to lower your cholesterol.
Your total cholesterol is calculated by using the following formula:HDL (Good Cholesterol) + LDL (Bad Cholesterol) + VLDL = Your Total Cholesterol Number (TCL/TCN).
You are more confused now than before, aren't you? Would it help if I explained what VLDL meant? First, you need to understand what triglycerides are. They are they fat cells or fatty acid in your blood. VLDL is the amount of those triglycerides found in your blood divided by the number 5.
Now you may be asking what is this VLDL number that is in the formula. VLDL is the doctor's abbreviation for the Triglyceride level in your blood. A triglyceride is a fatty acid or fat cell that is in your blood stream. VLDL is the triglyceride level in the bloodstream divided by five. Therefore, you total cholesterol number is the Good Cholesterol number + the Bad Cholesterol Number + the triglyceride level/5.
As you can see, calculating your actual total cholesterol number is not complicated or anything like math used in rocket science or astrophysics. Again, if the total cholesterol number is under 200 then great; if it's over 200, better start following your doctor's advice.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.freebie-articles.com/images/rss.gif "XML Feed For RSS")
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites