Lowering cholesterol does not only mean getting your overall cholesterol levels below the 200mg/dl benchmark, in order to successfully reduce the risks of having atherosclerosis, heart attacks or strokes as a result of unmanaged cholesterol levels, you must also focus on lowering the LDL cholesterol and raising the HDL cholesterol levels.

The LDL cholesterol or the Low Density Lipoprotein is considered the bad cholesterol and should be lowered below 100 mg/dl. The HDL cholesterol or the High Density Lipoprotein is the good cholesterol that should be raised above 40 mg/dl. LDL cholesterol should be lowered because it tends to stick to artery walls and promote the hardening and narrowing of the arteries, a dangerous condition called atherosclerosis that can lead to heart disease and strokes. The HDL cholesterol levels should be increased as it helps to cleanse the arteries from excess cholesterol and helps to control the production of the LDL cholesterol by the liver.

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Hospital claim that the elevation of the HDL cholesterol by single milligram per deciliter can reduce the risk of having a heart attack by 3 percent. Although the researches have found that low cholesterol and lo in fat diet that is rich in vitamins and minerals along with regular exercise can have dramatic positive impact on HDL levels and while HDL cholesterol levels are recommended to be above 40 mg/dl among men and 50mg/dl among women, more than 54 million Americans still do not meet that standard and therefore are at constant risk of having a heart attack.

Studies have found that the combination of a cholesterol friendly diet, weight loss, the reduction of alcohol consumption, giving up smoking and regular exercise can have greater impact on elevating the HDL cholesterol levels than the intake of lowering cholesterol medications.