Why is HDL added to total cholesterol?

The formula for total cholesterol -- as in the test result you get and what people tend to speak about -- is LDL plus HDL plus one fifth of the triglycerides. Problem is, HDL is good cholesterol -- you want it to be high -- and the other two are bad. I don't know why people can say that "200 is the level for too much cholesterol" when it could be high because of a lot of good cholesterol! It seems to me you should /subtract/ the HDL value, but they don't do that. Am I missing something? Why are you "marked down" so to speak for something that's good and desirable?

yup your right!
lots of people have misinterpreted the result of "cholesterol" or maybe some doctors doesn't know how to interpret them. HDL is good if its high which is equal to Total cholesterol being high also si good in the sense that HDL is the reason why TC is high. so its like a ratio of sorts.
lets put it this way:
TC : high
HDL : high
LDL : low
= good result

TC : high
HDL : low
LDL : high
=bad for the body

your not missing something its just a matter of misinterpretation

You are sure right. I always subtract it and them ask the Dr.
if it is good or bad, to make sure.======

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