Anybody knowledgable about chloresterol?

I had a mini check-up and my blood work came back with the following:
Total chloresterol-77
HDL-31
LDL-12
Triglycerides-169

Now, I know that the triglycerides is high. Should I be worried about the low HDL? I am not overweight, I exercise 3-5 times a week, I do not smoke, and I try to eat right. When I checked the internet, the low HDL may indicate I am at higher risk of heart disease. ANd it says to raise my HDL I should quit smoking, exercise etc.

I would have the lab double check that .... because a total of 77 makes no sense

I agree 77 is a really low number compared to the other results.

That number doesn't look right. I've seen very few patients with that low of a number. These are normal ranges for each of the above. I would have then check it again.

Total cholesterol should be less than 200.

HDL (good cholesterol) should be between 40-60.

LDL (bad cholesterol) should be less than 100.

Triglyceride should be less than 150.

total can be that low... mine was 88 when I was in my early 20's. My dad's doctor relayed a message, through my dad, back to me. He said 'eat more cheeseburgers'

Well, I had doctor's orders!!

You total SHOULD be above 100, but preferably below 200. mine was that low because I was forced (my mother) on a low cholesterol diet starting at 15. That's when my dad had his double bypass. My mother's 'tude was that 'whatever is good enough for dad is good enough for everyone.' hence my low totals at 22.

It is too low, but if you're eating little or no meat and metabolize quickly, it's entirely believable IMO. But you should get it up a bit. it's too low.

Amanda

Your results though a little low on the Hdl and tri-glycerides just over in comparisonto some peoples results may just be normal for your body mass index?Problems result when your Ldl levels are high and your Hdl levels lower,but your Ldl are low.You can increase your Hdl by cutting down on saturated fats(saturated fats.e.g butter,suet,lard,coconut oil,dairy products(cream and cheese) and meat(particularly red meat)and replace with vegetarian cheese and olive oil and soy products whenever you can,eating animals really isn't healthy for humans I'm afraid ,though manywill disagree with me Did you happen to have a glass of wine or anything alcholic the night before the test?That can put your try-glycerides up slightly.either way if your worried see your doc its better safe than sorry

You know, my numbers have been low, let's see, I've been getting checked for about 4 years now. My cholesterol has always been low. I don't know why but now that I'm getting older I tend to wonder, you hear about athlete's having heart attacks, people having strokes etc.
It's weird. I only drink soy milk, I eat red meat maybe 3 times a year. I do use olive oil, but I use real butter, just for toast. I eat cheese but only a little slice or two with the toast. I also eat chicken.
I checked a local hospital website and they had a healthy heart check type of test. The test results said my hdl was too low and to bring it up I should "limit consumption of animal food products (meat, fish, poultry etc) or any food products derived from animals (such as dairy products)."
So, I should eat only grains, fruit and vegetables? How will I get protein?
I'm already always hungry as it is!

lean meat protein... tofu

I found a place that will do a lipid/cholesterol screen without a doctors referral, so I'm going to do that next week. I had it done through the VA which sent my blood to a lab in Seattle, so rather than go through them again..... .

my cholesterol [both HDL & LDL] has always been low, & prior to weight loss, my triglicerides were high. here's the most current numbers...
HDL 44
LDL 84
Triglicerides 126


my doc told me to take 3 fish oil caps a day to raise the HDL... i'm allergic to fish, so i take 3 flax oil caps a day. that helped - the HDL number was lower than 44 last time!