There was a time when people knew that cholesterol was cholesterol and that much of it was a worse thing to have. But the truth is- our thought about cholesterol is very little because most of us are only known to the term and hardly know about it elaborately. But nowadays the doctors have comprehended that the situation is a bit more complex and others stuffs regarding cholesterol must be given a deeper thought and taken good care of, the most general of which are HDL( high-density lipoprotein) and LDL(low-density lipoprotein or).

HDL stands for high-density lipoprotein or good cholesterol, because it does not create any arterial plaques and moreover carries all the bad cholesterol away from the arteries back to the liver resulting in the excretion of the bad cholesterol from the body afterwards. On the other hand LDL stands for low-density lipoprotein or bad cholesterol, because it attaches itself like glue to the sides of the arteries building up a plaque which threatens the blood flow causing a blockage, leading to a heart attack or a stroke if built up in the cerebral arteries. Therefore, the more HDL you have, the LDL amount in your blood will surely be less, lowering the risk of having a heart disease.

It is normally seen that the HDL level is a bit lower in the blood, but this is normal because there is no such special drug that can boost its amount. So as it is low, it is very important and necessary to raise the level of HDL by eating a low-cholesterol diet or by keeping away from foods that are very loaded in saturated fats. Foods such as lean meat, fresh fruits, vegetables, skinless poultry, fish, nuts barley, legumes and oats are considered as low cholesterol diet. On the other hand, processed or supermarket foods, meat and other foods which are rich in saturated fats should be greatly avoided. In addition, regular workouts must be done for at least less than an hour or around thirty minutes or so which will not only help lower the cholesterol level but will also make better the overall health condition. Generally when the doctor tests your cholesterol level, he or she may only tell you the overall level along with the HDL and the LDL level. The individual levels are more significant than the overall levels. The suggested or ideal levels of LDL should be around 100mg/dL or lower and for the HDL it should it should be around somewhere like 60mg/dL or higher.

So when it comes to the subject of cholesterol levels, we shall not be only thinking about it but our main concern should be to know both our HDL and LDL levels and definitely we need to work hard a lot and make a habit of doing regular physical activities to keep both levels of the cholesterol in our blood at healthy ranges. Everyone wants to have a prolonged life in this world, so it's our responsibility to take good care of our health and body so we can live long.

More on HDL and LDL Cholesterol right here!