When it comes to heart health, cholesterol plays a serious role. High levels of cholesterol in the blood is a significant risk factor with coronary heart disease and stroke. That should be enough reason to find out your cholesterol level and if any kind of corrective action should be taken. This section should help you determine the range considered normal levels of cholesterol.

Below 200 mg/dL for total cholesterol is normal and puts you at a much lower risk for heart disease. HDL cholesterol is good, which means higher levels are better. For men, 40 to 50 mg/dL is normal and women normally range between 50 to 60 mg/dL. For LDL cholesterol normal levels are below 130 mg/dL.Normal triglyceride levels fall below 150 mg/dL.

How to lower Bad Cholesterol and raise Good Cholesterol Levels? 

Cholesterol has two forms - LDL (Low Density Lipoproteins) and HDL (High Density Lipoproteins). It is a derivate of fat that is produced in the liver and is found in our cells and our blood. Cholesterol is a necessity in our body. It is important for the formation of cell membranes, hormones, bile acid and vitamin D. however, an excess of cholesterol in the body can lead to numerous health problems. One of the major reasons why most people give so much importance to cholesterol is that is functional in causing many fatal heart problems. It has been medically proven that only one kind of cholesterol, that is, the LDLs, can harm our bodies when there in excess. The HDLs are not functional in harming our system.     

HDL, also known as good cholesterol, does not have any harmful effect. An ideal way to combat cholesterol problems would be to increase the HDL count in our body and decrease the LDL count. There are many natural remedies that help in achieving this.   

Policosanol

This extract of sugar cane wax has great cholesterol lowering properties that make it a very successful weapon in the fight against cholesterol. In fact, Poliocosanol is better than many factory manufactured drugs when it comes to
reducing cholesterol levels in the body. And the best thing about this natural remedy is that it does not have any side effects whatsoever. Thus, Poliocosanol is an ideal way to combat cholesterol problems.   

Green tea extract

Just like Poliocosanol, green tea extracts have properties that will enable you to lower your cholesterol levels without worrying about any side effects whatsoever. In fact, green tea extract has many other medicinal properties
that can be beneficial to anyone. The best part about green tea extracts is that it has the capacity to increase the HDL cholesterol levels and decrease the LDL cholesterol levels.  

Niacin

Another medicine that helps in lowering the LDL cholesterol levels when needed is Niacin. Niacin is a B vitamin that is also called nicotinic acid. However, it does not have the capacity of a natural remedy. Being a man made product, Niacin has many side effects and should not be consumed without the advice of a doctor. Niacin is also unable to increase the good cholesterol levels like natural supplements like green tea extracts. One should be very careful about consuming Niacin and ensure that they do not self prescribe Niacin. Remember that it is not a natural drug that will help you lower your cholesterol levels and make you healthier.