HDL, so-called good cholesterol, is important to help prevent heart disease. Ideally, you should aim for 60 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) or greater of HDL cholesterol. Although there are several things you can do to improve your good cholesterol levels, adjusting your diet is certainly the easiest and most effective. By making permanent changes you can live with, you will ensure better HDL levels and lower LDL (bad) cholesterol numbers.
Step 1
Add more fiber to your diet. Soluble fiber--found in fruits, vegetables, nuts and beans--can increase HDL cholesterol and clean your arteries of LDL (bad) cholesterol. Oatmeal and barley are especially helpful. Aim for at least two servings of fiber a day.
Step 2
Increase the amount of monounsaturated fats you consume. They raise HDL levels but don't increase bad cholesterol, as saturated (animal) fats do. Good sources of monounsaturated fats include olive oil, avocados, nuts and flaxseed.
Step 3
Eat onions on a regular basis. Studies show that they raise HDL levels without affecting overall cholesterol. Ideally, you should be consuming half an onion a day, and raw is better. Even if you can't deal with that much, eating onions occasionally will still help.
Step 4
Don't give up your drinks. Alcohol raises HDL, as long as you keep the drinking to two glasses or less a day. Red wine is particularly good, as it contains antioxidants that help slow down the oxidation of cholesterol.
Step 5
Look for sources of omega-3 fatty acids to add to your diet. Fatty fish like salmon and sardines are the best sources, but you can also find them in ground or whole flaxseed, as well as in flaxseed oil, or take them as a supplement. Vegetarians can also find omega-3 in pumpkin seeds and Brazil nuts.
Step 6
Indulge in chocolate. Pure dark chocolate of at least 70 percent cocoa can raise HDL levels if consumed in smaller amounts. To avoid weight increase (which affects cholesterol), do not eat more than 40 grams a day.
Tips and Warnings
- Start an exercise program along with the diet changes. This will help lower your bad cholesterol and as a result improve the ratio of HDL to LDL. Give up smoking. Cigarettes speed up oxidation, resulting in a reduction of HDL levels. Levels go up again as soon as you give up smoking, and even if you only had a couple of smokes a day.
