Hi David, I am looking at a cholesterol/lipid panel. So I am aware that the triglycerides should be half of the total cholesterol. So if someone's cholesterol is 233, and their triglycerides are 91 I know their overall cholesterol is high. However, how do we measure the triglyceride level? How do we know if it's high for this person? Now when looking at HDL VLDL and LDL, do we look at that relative to overall cholesterol? If so how? Or are they measured independently? HDL: 54 VLDL: 16 LDL: 163 What are your top recommendations for lowering LDL cholesterol? Is there a supplement/capsule that could be taken daily that you recommend? Compliance is hard with this person, and a "pill" is where I want to start.

The triglycerides are ok, the total cholesterol number is high, but that may or may not be an issue. The half the total cholesterol is approximate if their triglycerides were 130 or higher I would be more concerned Yes they are measured independently then combined to give total number (233). We will be covering this in greater detail in class March - May when we do functional blood work . Pills do not work very well except for Statins. The best “natural” pills combine red yeast rice, Boswellia, plant sterols, and artichoke leaf, they offer modest improvements, nothing like pharmaceutical meds