First reading should really be under 200, although 226 is not an immediate risk. But work on getting is below 200. HDL is ok. LDL is high though, need to get that down to 100. Your trigycerides is good and well within range.
While under 200 is better than over 200, studies have found that up to 35% of the people in the range of 150 to 200 will have a heart attack. Yet get your total cholesterol below 150 your chance is less than 1%. Almost heart attack proof. And that is important because heart disease and attacks are the #1 killer of men in America.
Officially, your total and LDL cholesterol are "borderline high."
http://www.nutrientsreview.com/lipids/cholesterol.html#tests
The following can help you decrease total and LDL cholesterol:
- Losing weight (if overweight)
- Lower intake of saturated fat (red meat, cheese), trans fat (fast foods) and possibly cholesterol (egg yolks, shrimps, liver and other organ meats) and higher intake of polyunsaturated fat (fish)
- Regular physical activity (walking or whatever)
I'm curious to see these studies. From everything I've seen there is evidence that cholesterol causes heart issues, there is a correlation but not causation.
And Saturated Fats also haven't been proven to cause issues: http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1846638
And Saturated Fats also haven't been proven to cause issues: http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1846638