Lipid panel: what normal leaves out

What is a good ApoB level?

Under 60 mg/dL is the ApoB ceiling in this quote. It is stated for anyone from their late 30s on, not for one condition:

“by the time you're in your late 30s or early 40s if you have any measure of apo b that's even north of the 20th percentile that should be completely lowered, so in some ways i would view an apob ceiling of 60 as the limit”

On the same video, 100 mg/dL, about where most labs start to flag, is the middle of the population, the 50th percentile:

“so fifth percentile from the framingham offspring study was is 62, i just in my mind keep keep 60. 10th percentile is about 70, 20th percentiles 78 so i just think of 80, 50th percentile is about 100 it's technically 97”

Not every source draws the line at 60. This one draws a looser line, and a tighter one for people with heart disease:

“the level you should have is under 90 but ideally probably under 70 and if you have cardiovascular disease may be under 50”

Your own number against both lines is on the ApoB page.

What is a good Lp(a) level?

Lp(a) under 50 nmol/L is the line in this quote, and the same speaker calls 50 to 100 a gray area. Most labs draw their own line at 75, inside that gray area.

“for that test we like to see people less than 50 nano mole per liter. when people are sort of fifty to a hundred I put them in kind of a gray area”

Over 100, and over 125 most of all, is where the same speaker starts to worry. The video's automatic captions hear "nanomole" as "an animal":

“when people are over a hundred or certainly over 125 an animal per liter that's when I start to get worried”

Some labs report Lp(a) in mg/dL instead. An Lp(a) researcher gives the conversion for 50 mg/dL:

“you have to keep in mind though that if you have an lpa for instance of 50 milligrams per deciliter the measurement in nano moles per liter will be around 125 nanomoles per liter”

Your own number is on the Lp(a) page.

What is an optimal triglycerides level?

Under 100 mg/dL, in two quotes from two practices. The first names the lab's 150 in the same breath:

“to the lipids I generally take a harder line on triglycerides than is typically given, so the typical reference range on triglyceride is less than 150 milligrams per deciliter — apologize, I don't know what that is in millimolar for people who are outside of the United States — I generally like to see triglycerides below 100”

“they have normal triglycerides, which are being defined as less than 150. We argue in our practice that's very high, and anything over 100 is elevated.”

At the top of the scale, a cholesterol specialist (lipidologist) links a level over 500 to pancreatitis, an inflamed pancreas. Most labs flag anything over 150, so a level that high shows on your report:

“hyper triglyceridemia, one is it above 500 — a, if it is you have some crazy genetic disorder that is uh involved with your high triglyceride, and most of those are not associated with atherosclerosis, so but nonetheless they are associated with pancreatitis”

Your own number is on the triglycerides page.

What is a good omega-3 index?

8 to 12% is the target in this quote, from a scientist who co-created the test. The test's own report calls 4 to 8% its intermediate zone, so a result there is still under the 8% where this target starts.

“we think and what we call the omega-3 index which is EPA plus DHA in red cell membranes our target is 8 to 12 percent just that's a range we think is the healthy range average American is around 5% maybe four or five percent”

A second source describes what the gap meant in one study, and how much supplement it took to close it:

“he looked at the Omega-3 Index, and people that had a Omega-3 Index of 4% or lower, so close to what the standard American is but a little bit lower, they had a five-year decreased life expectancy compared to people that had an 8% Omega-3 Index.”

“people that are in the 4% Omega-3 Index range, in order to get to the 8%, the five-year increased life expectancy if we're comparing the two groups, was to supplement with at least two grams.”

A higher index is a different question from fewer heart attacks. The study grades below cover that. Your own number is on the omega-3 index page.

Why does a lower ApoB matter?

The physician who sets the ceiling at 60 says ApoB below 40 mg/dL, held for a very long time, makes the odds of artery disease (ASCVD) incredibly low:

“if you have an ldl cholesterol below 30 or an apob below 40 milligrams per deciliter for a very long period of time i think the odds that you're going to suffer asvd are incredibly low”

What else do triglycerides tell you?

A cholesterol specialist calls triglycerides a cheap sign of insulin resistance, when your body stops responding well to insulin. Cutting carbs to lower them is graded below:

“we know triglycerides is a poor man's biomarker of insulin resistance”

What do the studies say about these claims?

These grades come from Precis, our sister site, which checks each claim against the interviews and studies it has read. Checked 19 October 2026.

• The claim that lowering apoB lowers heart disease risk is rated Strong consensus for.
• The claim that cutting carbs lowers triglycerides is rated Strong consensus for.
• The claim that diet changes and fixing insulin resistance are the first steps to lower ApoB, before medication, is rated Not enough evidence so far.
• The claim that Lp(a) is inherited and stable through life, so one test is enough for most adults, is rated Leaning for.
• The claim that fish oil prevents heart attacks and strokes is rated Leaning against.

What does this page leave out?

LDL and HDL cholesterol are on most lipid panels and are not covered here. They have their own pages: LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol.

This page does not diagnose anything and does not tell you what to take. It puts what was said on video next to what your lab prints. The Precis grades were checked on 19 October 2026 and can change as Precis reads more studies.