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My Cholesterol Is What?!
By CarlWesley in Ask Me About My Moustache
November 9, 2012

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Total Cholesterol: 204 HDLD: 45.8 LDLD: 147! Triglycerides: 81.

“So, what does that mean,” you ask? I’ll tell you. Total Cholesterol: Upper range for total cholesterol is 200. As long as I’ve been checking it, it always hangs around there. Some times a little higher, sometimes a little lower. You need cholesterol as a component in building your body’s cells. Too much, however, is a bad thing.

HDLD: This is your, “good,” cholesterol; High Density Lipoprotein. It acts as a cholesterol scavenger, picking up excess cholesterol in your blood and taking it back to your liver where it's broken down. You want a higher number for this, somewhere between 30 and 85. A 45.8 isn’t too bad, actually, but a 60 would be much better.

LDLD: The bad cholesterol; Low Density Lipoprotein. The upper limit for this gunk is 130. These lipoproteins carry cholesterol throughout your body, delivering it to different organs and tissues. But if your body has more cholesterol than it needs, the excess keeps circulating in your blood. And eventually sticks to the inner walls of your blood vessels, this is called a plaque. Eventually these can build up to form a blockage. 147 isn’t that high above the range, but it’s high enough that I’m not comfortable with it.

Triglycerides: 81 is actually a pretty good number. No complaints here.

How do I make these numbers better? The MAYO clinic has a few suggestions:

Don’t smoke. Okay. I haven’t had a cigarette in many, many, MANY years. Lose Weight. Okay. I’ve lost a few pounds and am at my target weight. Get more physical activity. I’ve been doing that since January. I run about 10 miles week or more. Choose Healthier Fats: I stay away from the saturated fats and eat a lot of nuts and olive oil, which are good for you.

This is why I’m so let down by these numbers. I’m doing all the right things, but my numbers are still not where I want them. Genetics has something to do with it, but I’m doing more, physically, than my forefathers did to correct the problem. I don’t want to start taking medications to resolve the problem, but that is an option.

On the other hand, I have been eating a lot of Halloween candy and I haven’t been running for a couple of weeks while my foot mends. Could my numbers get skewed in that short a time? So here’s the deal, once I get to see a doctor, I’ll ask him about it and rerun my numbers at the end of the month. I should be about ready to hit the Hike and Bike Trail soon and I’ve cleaned out the candy stash. If my numbers aren’t better by then, I’ll look into Plan B.