Non-HDL cholesterol is your total cholesterol minus your HDL “good cholesterol.” Here’s the formula: Non-HDL Cholesterol = Total Cholesterol – HDL Cholesterol. So if your total cholesterol is 190 and your HDL cholesterol is 40, your non-HDL cholesterol is 150.
It is helpful to know your non-HDL cholesterol because your level of non-HDL may predict your risk of cardiovascular disease even better than your LDL “bad” cholesterol. That’s because your non-HDL number tells you all the bad cholesterol circulating in your blood – not just your LDL cholesterol but your VLDL cholesterol levels as well. Both LDL and VLDL particles are artery-clogging “bad” lipids. When you subtract the “good” cholesterol (HDL) from your total cholesterol, you are left with all the “bad” cholesterol.
States Dr. James Kenney, Nutrition Research Specialist at the Pritikin Longevity Center & Spa: “We recommend that non-HDL be no more than 120 for prevention and no more than 100 for regression, or reversal, of atherosclerotic lesions in those with established coronary artery disease or those at very high risk, such as diabetics or those with evidence of severely clogged arteries, including people who have had a heart attack or have angina or claudication (difficulty/pain in walking due to insufficient blood supply to the legs and feet).
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Carolyn Callaway
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Non-HDL Cholesterol Please add something about the problems of HIGH HDL. I've had high HDL for 25 years and everybody thought it was great and my total cholesterol of about 200 was nothing to worry about. Now with the new research on high HDL I find (via a CT heart scan) that my LAD is 50% blocked. I have no other risk factors except family history and age (63). I am slim, exercise, eat well (not as well as you would like, but darn good compared to most Americans) so looking at your recommendations, other than improving my diet even more, is there anything (other than statins) that I should be doing? Will statins lower HDL? I spent two weeks at Pritikin Santa Monica 11 years ago with my husband and had a wonderful time. |
