By going to the doctor and getting a simple blood test done to check your cholesterol, you can find out what your levels of cholesterol are. When you go to get your cholesterol checked, they’ll check all the levels of your cholesterol. Your test will come back showing the levels of your cholesterol and what they could mean for your health. Your doctor will also take the information about your age, family history, smoking and your blood pressure into account.

The levels of cholesterol checked by the test will be your total blood cholesterol level, your HDL cholesterol level, your LDL cholesterol level and your triglyceride level. These are all very important levels of your cholesterol and each one means something different for you. This information will tell your doctor what your risk of heart disease may be based on your cholesterol levels and family history.

If you have a total blood cholesterol level less then 200 mg this is good level and will put you at a low risk for heart disease. If it’s above 200 mg, you’re considered to be borderline high risk. Your doctor will probably recommend that you change your lifestyle to lower your blood cholesterol level and request that you have your cholesterol checked more often. If it’s over 240 mg, then you are at high risk and your doctor will want to put you on a treatment plan and probably prescribe medication to help you lower it.

If your HDL cholesterol level is higher, then this is good. Low HDL levels can also put you at a high risk for heart disease and other problems. If your LDL cholesterol level is low then that’s good, too, as this will help to reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke.

If your triglyceride level is high, this could mean that you have a high total cholesterol level. People can have a high triglyceride level because they’re overweight, smoke cigarettes, are inactive and drink too much alcohol. These levels can mean different things for you, so you must go to your doctor to get the treatment that is best for your cholesterol levels.

There are all kinds of ways that you can lower your cholesterol. Here are some quick and simple ways that will lower your cholesterol with less effort.

Drinking two 8 oz. glasses of orange juice each day can help lower your cholesterol. Buy orange juice that has cholesterol lowering ingredients in it. There are different brands of orange juice on the market with these ingredients in them. Orange juice taste good, it’s good for you and can help to lower your cholesterol.

Eat several small, low-fat meals during the day instead of two or three big meals. Studies have found that people who eat a number of small meals during the day had lower cholesterol levels than people who ate twice a day. Drinking a glass of red wine each day at dinner time has also been known to have beneficial effects on cholesterol.

What we eat can make all the difference in lowering our cholesterol. Eating whole grain bread and fixing all your sandwiches and meals using whole grain bread is good for lowering cholesterol.

Certain substances found in coffee can increase your cholesterol level, but if you use paper coffee filters each time you make coffee, the filters will trap these compounds.

When cooking and preparing your meals, use olive oil instead of regular cooking oil or lard. Studies have found that using olive oil can reduce your LDL cholesterol level.

Drinking a few glasses of black tea each day has also been known to lower cholesterol in people. Adding cinnamon to your diet has also been said to lower cholesterol as well.

Oatmeal is a great way to lower your cholesterol and it is good for you. Studies have also proven that eating oatmeal each day will lower your cholesterol.

If you like cranberry juice, drinking it each day can help to lower your cholesterol as can eating grapefruit, honey and drinking grape juice.

Doing push ups, squats, leg lifts, and other exercises have been known to lower cholesterol, too. You don’t need to go to a gym. Activities that you can do at home are just as good for lowering your cholesterol.