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Heidi Kluess, assistant professor of kinesiology in the department of health science, kinesiology, recreation and dance, College of Education and Health Professions, replies:
Blood lipids include cholesterol and triglycerides. Cholesterol is a type of fat that is produced by your body in the liver from the food that you eat. Cholesterol serves an important role in repair of tissues, the production of hormones, vitamin D and digestion, according to the American Heart Association. There are two major types of cholesterol that are classified by the type of protein that carries the cholesterol in the blood. They are called low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL).
Triglycerides are a type of fat transported in the blood and used for energy production for physical activities such as walking and cycling. However, when your cholesterol and/or triglyceride levels are too high, your risk for cardiovascular disease is increased. Blood lipid levels can become too high by eating a large amount of high fat foods, particularly foods high in saturated fat; being sedentary, being obese or overweight; and having diabetes. High cholesterol and triglycerides also have a large genetic component; therefore, family history may contribute to a person having high blood lipids, according to the National Cholesterol Education Program.
For the purpose of preventing cardiovascular disease, the American Heart Association recommends maintaining your LDL cholesterol at levels below 100 mg/dl and your HDL cholesterol above 40mg/dl for optimal total cholesterol of less than 200mg/dl. The recommendation for triglycerides is to have less than 150mg/dl in your blood.