Presented by CHFC Dietitian Emily Leffew

February is National Heart Month – a perfect time to talk about cholesterol numbers and which numbers count towards a healthy heart.

When you see your doctor for an annual visit, they will check blood work and they’ll check a lipid panel. They are looking for total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and triglyceride. You might have been wondering, what do these numbers mean and how can I change them?

Total Cholesterol

Your total cholesterol, ideally is less than 200. That is considered to be healthy.

Total Cholesterol is your triglycerides divided by five, and then we add your HDL and your LDL to that number. We want some of these components to be higher, and some of them we would like to see lower.

HDL Cholesterol

HDL is our good cholesterol, and the higher, the better. The recommended levels are above 40 for men and above 50 for women. There are certain ways that we can help boost our HDL cholesterol if it is not in a healthy range. And this includes eating more heart healthy fats, foods like avocados, salmon, nuts, olive oil, flax seed, and chia seeds, getting regular aerobic exercise, smoking cessation if you are a smoker, and weight loss, especially if you tend to hold excess weight in your abdominal region.

LDL Cholesterol

This is considered our bad cholesterol. We want this number to be lower. Ideally, below 130 is recommended for healthy individuals and less than 100 if you are someone who has been diagnosed with diabetes or heart disease. There are certain ways that we can lower our LDL cholesterol, and they include eating more fiber, specifically soluble fiber. This is found in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, specifically in foods like oats, apples, pears, beans, and avocados. Another way that we can lower our LDL cholesterol is by decreasing the amount of saturated fat that we consume. Saturated fat is found in animal products, so this would be our meat and dairy food. The higher the fat content of dairy foods like cheese, yogurt, and milk, and the higher the fat content of the meat that you’re eating, that is going to be an indicator that there is more saturated fat present. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 13 grams of saturated fat per day, so I do recommend that people choose low fat or fat free dairy foods.

When it comes to meat, choosing options like fish, chicken, turkey, and if you do eat beef or pork, look for the leanest options possible.

Triglycerides

The ideal value for triglycerides is less than 150. There are some ways that we can lower this as well, and that includes decreasing your alcohol consumption and decreasing your intake of refined carbohydrate. So that means things like candy, sweets, desserts, soda, and sweet tea. Those are going to be something we need to really limit or try to avoid. Instead of things like white bread or white rice, we can choose brown rice, quinoa, whole wheat bread, whole grain English muffins. You can get whole wheat tortillas. In the carbohydrate and grain section, trying to get more whole grain, whole wheat, whole grain, and choosing low sugar beverages like sparkling water or lowfat milk are also a great option.

If you have any questions about your cholesterol numbers, or if you’d like to schedule a nutrition appointment to talk about anything else, feel free to stop by Member Service to schedule an appointment.