Low HDL: Is it a Problem?
Matt Morrison Diseases And Conditions
To learn more about HDL cholesterol and its effects on your health visit: http://www.decreasecholesterol.com/hdlcholesterol/hdl-cholesterol.html
Before you jump the gun in terms of any
potential low HDL problems you might have, the first thing you need to do is
figure out once and for all whether your HDL levels are actually problematic.
For the average male, anything that is under 45 can be considered low HDL
whereas for women the number would be 55. Anything that is 10 points or more
below that would be considered low enough to need controlling, but again this is
only for an average case. Depending on your particular physiological
characteristics and history, the doctor that you consult may choose to adjust
those numbers up or down. Before you try to start working on this problem, you
need to find out if it is even problematic to begin with.
Once you have confirmed that your HDL levels are indeed lower than normal, you
need to take a look at whether this is problematic enough to warrant you doing
something about it. As previously mentioned, in most cases a level of 10 points
or more below the average for your particular demographic would be considered
low enough to need controlling, although it is also important to know that HDL
levels are far more sensitive in terms of how they affect you than LDL levels.
The ratio is about 4:1 meaning that the effects on your health of every one
point of HDL lower than average is about the same as the effects on your health
of every four points of LDL higher than average. This is
why the 10 figure is the critical figure in most cases whereas the number is
quite a bit higher for LDL cases.
If you are interested in giving your HDL a boost, you can always do a number of
things to help it along. One of the most important things you can do is get on a
diet designed to bring your body weight to the ideal weight for your height. If
you manage to pull that off, you should be able to raise your HDL by at least
five. Similarly, if you add an exercise regimen that keeps you in peak physical
shape, you should be able to add another five points to your HDL. If you are
involved in any chronic activities that are known to be unhealthy such as
smoking, quitting those activities will once again add another five points to
your HDL for a total of 15 points just for living the recommended healthy
lifestyle. The lesson to be learned from this is that the single most important
factor in maintaining healthy HDL levels is to maintain a balanced lifestyle
that is healthy and fit at the same time.
If you've done all this and you still need some help in raising your HDL levels,
it is time to turn to medication. There are many medications out there under
brand names like Lipitor that can help you raise HDL levels as well as many
daily vitamin medications such as niacin that can also be helpful. However, on
average it has been found that medication has less than half the effect of
lifestyle change, so getting healthy should be your top priority if your HDL
levels are too low.