There is no doubt that the risk of coronary heart disease rises as the cholesterol increases. Conversely, the risk drops as cholesterol falls. Although the American Heart Association recommends that the total cholesterol be 200 or less, I feel that this is too high. It may be average, but being average in this country is a risky proposition. After all, the average person with the average cholesterol gets the average heart attack or stroke. Being average isn’t healthy. We want to be better than average—much better.

I tell my patients that we should aim for ideal cholesterol and fat numbers, not average. It may not be possible for all of us to have ideal numbers, but we should know what we’re striving for.

The fat blocker diet-Here is the ideals:

♦ Total cholesterol—150, or no more than 100 plus your age

♦ LDL “bad” cholesterol”—100 or less

♦ HDL “good” cholesterol—55 plus

♦ VLDL cholesterol—20 or less

♦ Triglycerides—less than 100

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