Is low cholesterol bad or good?

[slydevl]

I'm not talking normal. I had a test and they said I was below normal. Should I be happy or worried. I know there is such a thing as good cholesterol but should you also want to have normal levels of bad cholesterol (cholesterol that is bad when high) or should you be shooting for 0.

[Fred]

cholesterol has it's use in the body. It helps cells form their membranes when they divide.

[Puttingood]

my doc says it is a combo and not just one number--mine totaled out to be 91 which he considered low since only a month earlier it was 450. The combination of changing my diet and medicine dropped me quick. I took Lipitor (80) which can only lower your cholestrol 40% so my diet change done the rest. He then dropped me to half on the Lipitor and my cholestrol stayed the same. My HDL (good cholestrol)) was real low.

Total Cholesterol Level (mg/dL) Category
Less than 200-Desirable
200 to 239-Borderline high
240 and above-High

HDL ("Good") Cholesterol Level
(mg/dL)CategoryLess than 40 -Low
60 and above-High

LDL ("Bad") Cholesterol Level
(mg/dL)CategoryLess than 100 -Optimal
100 to 129 -Near or above optima
130 to 159-Borderline high
160 to 189 -High
190 and above -Very high

Triglyceride Level (mg/dL)CategoryLess than 150Normal
150-199 -Borderline high
200-499-High
500 and above-Very high

[D'lo]

Putt,

have you noticed any knee pain since you been on Lipitor?

[Puttingood]

not exactly pain but my left knee area goes kinda numb like the skin tightens up or something. And that comes about an hour after I take the Lipitor.
I got a few pains in my knees but they seem to be related to my exercise.

[D'lo]

I know someone who took lipitor and he says it damaged the cartilege in his knee. Right after he takes it, it cause a great deal of pain in the knee, He stopped taking it and his knee pain went away but the damage is still there. He needs to find something that will help him because he is like at stroke level. His cholesterol is sky high, his blood pressure is high and he has diabetes. He refuses to take any statin cause he is sure that is where his knee pain and damage came from. I wish the doctor would help him with a diet to go by because he's very confused with what he can and can't have so he just eats what he wants and then wonders why he don't feel good.

[Puttingood]

anything that ain't got a momma ! That's the food he can eat. But some foods are not diet foods. Salmon is wonderful but got a lot of calories. Shellfish is good but loaded with salt. He is kinda stuck when he has high blood pressure and high cholestrol.
I eat less than 1000 calories a day now and try to walk 6 miles but I am trying and succeeding at losing weight. You can eat a low cholestrol diet and still weigh a ton. Once I get to the weight I need to be I am gonna increase my calories and eat a liitle more. If he ain't gonna take his medicine then he should at least take an aspirin every morning and a multi-vitamin.
I figured I enjoyed the heck out of myself getting in the shape that put me in the hospital so I can handle a little inconvienence.
That knee pain probably ain't right but there are natural substitutes for Lipitor that some say work.
I'm only speaking from my own experience. Sounds like his is a lot more complicated then mine what with him having diabetes.

[D'lo]

oh trust me, he is a lot more complicated than you. :banginghe He's very stubborn! He loves his sweets! He can't really excercise because of the ligament tears in his knee. He's depressed and food is his friend, plus he smokes cigars!
Last week he said he woke up around 3a.m. to go to the bathroom and all of sudden he didn't know where he was or who he was and just wondered around the house all confused. he said this lasted for an hour. I tell ya, he scares me, but when you try to talk to him about it, he don't won't to talk about it. I'm surprised he even told me about this episode.

[Puttingood]

I've run across a lot of people like that. My condidtion is very minor compared to most so it's easy for me to say "do this" and "do that." I hate he is in that situation and you are having to deal with it too.

[muff_spelunker]

That knee pain probably ain't right but there are natural substitutes for Lipitor that some say work.
my cholesterol came back high and the doctor wanted to put me on meds, i think it started with a 'c'. i did some research on the drug and others like it and found they're hard on the liver and can damage it over time. so i looked into something natural and found red yeast rice. supposed to be amazing at taking care of cholesterol. only drawback is it will deplete coenzyme q10 from the body, but there are supplements for that too. so i pop a co-q10 and some red yeast rice pills and eat my oatmeal every morning like a good girl.

[Puttingood]

I wish I liked oatmeal. I eat a bowl of heart healthy cereal, no fat milk with a banana or strawberries.
Garlic is suppose to be good for you too on the cholestrol thing. I'm gonna get off these pills when I lose enough weight. They have prodded and poked me everywhere and my liver is good, kidneys, oxygen level, and all the stuff they check you for. I think all my trouble was diet and weight.

[Angel]

I'm not talking normal. I had a test and they said I was below normal. Should I be happy or worried. I know there is such a thing as good cholesterol but should you also want to have normal levels of bad cholesterol (cholesterol that is bad when high) or should you be shooting for 0.
While Putt gave you some good numbers, I have the same problem as you and have been treated by my doctor. I have always had low cholesterol numbers - 110 as a total. My doctor was concerned when he saw my HDL (good cholesterol) was only 9. The lab he uses gives a scorecard that says HDL of 30 and above is normal. He also talked about the ratio of HDL and LDL (bad cholesterol) with the guideline being HDL should be 1/3 or more of your LDL count. Mine was way off.

There are some foods that can raise HDL - walnuts and seaweed are two I remember. However, I have been on large does of Niacin for about two years (1000 mg per day) and my HDL has been as high as 27 and my ratio is nearly normal. The niacin comes as a prescription for Niaspan with is a timed released version of niacin.

As I understand it, HDL is supposed to help your arteries to stay flexible thereby avoiding hardening of the arteries which can lead to a stroke.