The HDL ratio is all that matters anyway. If your cholesterol is 300 but your HDL is 150, you're better off than someone who has a total cholesterol of 180 but an HDL reading of, say, 30.

If your HDL to total cholesterol ratio is higher than 24%, you're in better shape than most people. And you're doing even better if your trigyceride to HDL ratio is below 2.

Total cholesterol is a bogeyman invented by the drug companies.