Most doctors don't keep up with new research, and I can't remember where I read this, but if you are female and getting older, the higher your LDL is, the better your cognitive function is likely to be. The body is not stupid, and usually does things for a reason.
Most Integrative doctors will tell you there is no "bad" and "good" cholesterol, just small dense cholesterol and large, buoyant cholesterol. Both HDL and LDL can be small or large in size. You want the large kind, and though this is thought to be genetic, Integrative docs believe eating less simple carbs can help you improve it. The large molecules are less likely to oxidize, which is the only thing that makes LDL "bad". Antioxidants and good diet can help prevent that.
LDL is like a bandage put on a wound in your arteries. It did not cause the wound. LDL also grabs endotoxins and removes them from your blood to be stored in fat, where they are less likely to cause end organ damage. That is why I am posting. Very high LDL in the presence of CFS or FMS type of symptoms is a red flag for Lyme Disease,which has the exact same symptoms as CFS and FMS. The body raises LDL dramatically in Lyme Disease to save it from the potent endotoxins produced when the causative pathogen (Borrelia) dies. I would advise anyone with really high LDL to be tested for Lyme, esp. if they also have a low sed rate (ESR) and low lymphocytes and/or high neutrophils, all signs of the presence of a stealth bacterial infection.
Having said that, 122 is not a high LDL. Up until a few years ago, when Big Pharma discovered they could create new norms out of thin air and make a fortune off of selling more meds that way, LDLs below 130 were normal.
When I got Lyme, my LDL went up to 279. That is what I am talking about, not 122. My LDL is now down to 131 with herbal Lyme treatment.
I recommend that anyone who is interested should Google "The Cholesterol Myth" and have your eyes opened.
You should be far more worried about your homocysteine, your CRP, your fasting insulin, and your pulse pressure when it comes to heart disease. This is not just my opinion, though I do come from the perspective of having studied Naturopathy.
Also look up the VAP test for cholesterol, which should explain about the size of the molecules being more important than the numbers. Insurance won't pay for you to have the VAP done, since conventional medicine does not believe you can do anything about the size of your molecules, so they go on perpetuating the myths and selling dangerous statin drugs, without even adding COQ10 to them, which is malpractice, IMO.
klutzo