Hi Jimi,
Have you ever heard that having low levels of "good" cholesterol is "bad"?
This is not an uncommon perception, even within the peer-reviewed scientific literature. We recently looked at an example of this in one of the daily live segments we taught for our recent
Energy Reset Summit, that we produced with
Better Life Summits, when we examined a study that looked at a low carbohydrate Mediterranean diet versus a low-fat diet. This study made several common mistakes, including the one discussed below, making a less healthy diet appear to be more healthy. This illustrates how important a well-rounded education and critical thinking are to make sense out of the plethora of conflicting information out there.
Getting back to cholesterol itself, to know if having a lower level of “good” cholesterol is “bad” or not, as with so many other considerations, we have to understand the greater context.
Here is one example.
HDL and LDL are two of the major sub-categories of total cholesterol. For common levels of total cholesterol, all else being equal, the higher the HDL, the better. As HDL is considered to be protective against vascular disease and is therefore referred to as “good” cholesterol, this makes sense.
As far as this relationship is concerned however, the measurement that matters the most is the
total cholesterol /
HDL cholesterol
ratio. The lower the ratio the better.
To clarify, if total cholesterol is 200, and HDL is 50, the total/HDL ratio is 4.0 (200/50=4). If total cholesterol is 200 but HDL is 67, the ratio is 3.0 (200/67=3). In this case an HDL of 67 is better than an HDL of 50.
Total Cholesterol | HDL “Good” Cholesterol | Ratio | Risk |
200 | 50 | 4 | Higher Risk |
200 | 67 | 3 | Lower Risk |
But what about an HDL level of 50 if one’s total cholesterol is 125? 125 divided by 50 = 2.5. In this case, an HDL level of 50 is fantastic, as the total cholesterol is healthfully low, and the total / HDL ratio is excellent.
Total Cholesterol | HDL “Good” Cholesterol | Ratio | Risk |
200 | 67 | 3 | Higher Risk |
125 | 50 | 2.5 | Lower Risk |
In these two cases, all things considered, the person with the total cholesterol of 125 and an HDL level of 50 is much better off than the person with a total cholesterol of 200 and an HDL level of 67, even though the person with an HDL level of 67 has higher levels of “good” cholesterol than the person with the HDL level of 50.
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