>Poorly. The US does LDL/HDL ratios too. 180 is considered a
>"desirable" cholesterol level in the way a 3.5 LDL/HDL ratio is,
>but they're different. You can have a high ratio and a low
>cholesterol or vice versa. There is a correlation in that a good
>cholesterol level *usually* comes with a good ratio.
>However, 135 is in the very low range and would be like a 2 - 2.5
>ratio in terms of risk.
This is one of those things that demonstrates the ole "too much of
a good thing. A reading of over 200 increases your risk of heart
attack, arteriosclerosis, and some types of stroke, a reading under
150 increases your risk of liver cancer, lung disease and other
types of stroke. So 170-190 is recommended.
I got this from an interesting book called "The Green Pharmacy" by
Ethnobotanist James A. Duke Ph.D. published by Rodale ISBN 0-87596-
316-1.
I think this is a book every Extropian would find usefull, it's
full of excellent information and wonderfull anecdotes. When he was
with the Designer Food program under NIH, they decided on the "5
helpings of fruits and vegetables" a day bit. Duke suggests "five
fruits and five veggies, seasoned with five different herbs and
garnished with five different nuts."
This book also has a whole chapter on fighting aging.
He also points out that his vast medicinal plant database is
available at:
http://www.ars-grin.gov/~ngrlsb/
Brian
Member, Extropy Institute