Cholesterol is not a bad thing in and of itself. In fact, it is essential for proper cell function, as it is a key component of cell membranes. Cholesterol is carried in the blood but cannot be dissolved in it, which means it must use "vehicles" called lipoproteins to move around the body. When calculating cholesterol rates, lipoproteins and the cholesterol they contain are essentially interchangeable.
The liver is the engine that produces cholesterol in the body and produces it in the form of bile. However, as with many things in the body, too much of this good stuff can be harmful. Processing a modern high-fat diet can create a higher than normal cholesterol level. Since the blood cannot dissolve or remove cholesterol, the excess begins to accumulate on the arterial walls and restricts blood flow. This is especially dangerous inside the heart.
According to medical research, it turns out that the lipoprotein has a split personality or, if you like, an evil twin. High-density lipoproteins (HDL) carry "good cholesterol", which performs its function efficiently and is regularly eliminated with the help of the liver. The higher the HDL level, with 34 milligrams of cholesterol per deciliter of blood as a generally accepted baseline, the better. Low-density lipoproteins, on the other hand, are married to a type of cholesterol that tends to accumulate, which means that the lower the level, with 160 being the higher healthy range, the better.
The cholesterol ratio was developed as a means of quantifying the general status of that substance in the body. A commonly used cholesterol ratio divides the HDL ratio by the LDL ratio. Another divides the overall cholesterol score, obtained by adding the HDL and LDL levels, by the amount of HDL.
With the help of the cholesterol ratio, the total cholesterol score can be interpreted and broken down. For example, a seemingly high total score with a high HDL level might actually be encouraging. Conversely, a low HDL score or high LDL numbers hiding within the total are always red flags.
Comparing LDL to HDL, a cholesterol ratio of 2.3-4.9 would be normal, below 2.3 a very positive, and above 7.2 a definite danger signal. In terms of the ratio of HDL to total cholesterol ranking, the "average" range is between 3.9-4.7, with 6.0 being dangerously high. Some cardiologists are also starting to experiment with a third cholesterol ratio, one that divides the overall score by the amount of bad cholesterol.