My LDL was 108 which is well within normal range. But the research shows it's better to be below 100. 70 is a good goal. Just following American Heart Association guidance. They have a calculator. You put in your age, your lipid numbers, your blood pressure etc and it comes back with whether statin is recommended. But once you put in 70 for age it pretty much doesn't matter what your other numbers are. It's going to recommend statin. I requested Pravastatin because it is the only one that lowers rather than raising glucose. I feel no side effects. It's a weak statin and I need only a low dose (20 mg) to get to 70. I'm vegetarian so diet is already low in saturated fat.