All over the world approximately 17 million people die from heart disease and the bad guy is usually cholesterol. Every time this kind of statistics shows up, many people would contribute its cause to cholesterol. But cholesterol is very important in the body because without it, we may not even be alive.

In a nutshell, cholesterol are fraternal twins, different and unique, each with their own agenda inside the body. The first half is LDL or low density lipoprotein, best known as bad cholesterol. It is not really that bad because this protein helps in the distribution of cholesterol in the body which needs to help produce hormones and new cells. It gets nasty when this guy creates one big happy family of LDLs as this could mean increased carrying capacity of cholesterol in the body. In order to counter that, the better half of the twin set-up cleans up after his brother. In contrast, high density lipoproteins sweep the body’s arterial system from extra cholesterol. You can determine blood levels of both cholesterol types by a simple blood exam where you can check a cholesterol levels chart to find out if you have the right balance in your body.

Normal cholesterol levels should be less than 200mg/dl. But if you go beyond that, maybe its time for you to consider getting on a treadmill or perhaps a check up with your doctor. As for LDL cholesterol levels chart, having an LDL reading of less than 130mg/dl is considered normal. In contrast, if you registered an HDL level of more than 60mg/dl in your standard HDL cholesterol levels chart then you have a lot of those micro machines working to get rid of excess cholesterol in your body. All these charts are a helpful guide in determining overall health and appropriate treatment and preventive measures.

So basically, LDL is known as the bad cholesterol. So obviously, lowering it would be a great first step. Basically, you can maintain normal levels of LDL through proper diet. Eat meat sparingly especially pork and beef. Also control consuming food products that are processed, not only are they rich in trans fat but also are jammed pack with preservatives. Finally, limit the intake of butter in your diet. Butter makes everything taste good but bad for your arteries. Simply put, limiting fat intake is very important in having normal LDL levels.

What we need is a good amount of good cholesterol to combat excess LDL. So consuming foods rich in Niacin like eggs, omega-3-fatty acids and also monounsaturated fats help increase the levels of HDL circulating in the body.

Together with exercise, avoiding smoking and limiting alcohol consumption, you can have the prefect balance of HDL and LDL in your bloodstream and you can have a healthy life without you worrying about your ticker suddenly losing its clicks and ticks.