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How can I increase my HDL cholesterol?
By Christina | May 15, 2009
I was asked a few days ago how to increase the HDL levels in the blood and quite honestly, I did not have a reply so I did some research. I did however know that HDL is the good cholesterol, the one you want more of versus LDL, or “bad” cholesterol.
There are a few different ways you can make a difference in your cholesterol count without taking any medications:
Increase aerobic activity:
Walk, run, jog, swim, cycle, anything you enjoy and will sustain for 30 minutes on a regular basis. The bonus to increasing your exercise on a regular basis is that you will feel better, have more energy and possibly shed a few unwanted pounds.
Lose weight:
Being overweight not only means you will have a higher LDL count, but it also means your HDL will be low. By losing weight you will naturally reverse the order.
Kick the smoking habit:
This one not so simple trick will add years to your life, rejuvenate your skin, make you feel better and raise your HDL.
Change your diet:
Remove the trans fatty acids from your meal plan. If you see the words “partially hydrogenated vegetable oils” in a food label, you are ingesting trans fatty acids and that means higher HDL.
Diminish alcohol consumption:
It seems the current research has shown that one to two drinks a day are perhaps beneficial but more than that can lead to may several health hazards and one of them is, you guessed it, higher HDL.
There are more ways to increase the good and reduce the bad cholesterol but this is a start.
Topics: Nutrition |
