Your Health By The Numbers
>> 60 Optimal level of good cholesterol (HDL) you need keep your heart healthy.
Keeping your HDLs at this number or higher can help protect you from a variety of cardiovascular problems, including heart disease and stroke. An added bonus: If your bad cholesterol (LDL) is above 129, a high HDL count will help cancel out its harmful effects. To increase the good and decrease the bad, cut back on saturated fats, trans fats, and hydrogenated oils, and eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
>> 10 Minutes you should spend doing a breast self-exam each month.
If you’re familiar with the size and shape of your own breasts, you’ll likely know when something feels suspicious,” says Susan Brown, R.N., a health educator with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Do the self-exam at the same time each month (a week after your period is best).
For detailed instructions, visit komen.org. If you’re under 40, experts also recommended that you have a clinical breast exam at least every three years and both a mammogram and a clinical exam annually after your 40th birthday.
>> 2 Days per menstrual cycle that the average woman is fertile.
Your best chance of getting pregnant is if you have sex during a two-to-four-day time frame about halfway through your cycle, since sperm cells can live two days or more in the reproductive tract. “If you don’t normally have sex every day-and most couples don’t-and you want to conceive, try to do it every other day during midcycle (12 to 16 days after menstruation starts), says Frederick Licciardi, M.D., of New York University’s Program for In Vitro Fertilization, Reproductive Surgery, and Infertility.
Continued On Your Health by The Numbers - Part 2
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