Your total cholesterol is a combination of LDL, your bad kind, and HDL your good kind. HDL stands for high density lipoproteins. According to the American Heart Association, having an HDL reading of 60 mg/dl or higher can prevent heart disease. If your levels are low and you want to increase them, there are several steps you can take that involve conventional and natural approaches.
Step 1
Get a prescription. Pharmaceutical drugs can be used to lower your LDL levels and increase your HDL levels at the same time. Talk to your doctor about statins, fibrates and niacin.
Step 2
Put down the cigarettes. Smoking and secondhand smoke can damage your lungs and increase your risk for lung cancer. It can also lower your HDL levels. If you have high cholesterol and you smoke, quitting will bring up your HDL level.
Step 3
Get more exercise. Exercise offers the body such benefits as better joint mobility, improved brain function, better circulation and muscle strength. It can also help increase your HDL levels. Aim for 30 minutes of moderate exercise five or more days a week. Examples of things you can do are weight training, swimming, running, biking, playing racquetball and brisk walking, A moderate pace is characterized by being slightly winded and breaking a sweat.
Step 4
Restrict your calories. Excess pounds are a risk factor for a lot of conditions, and it can also lower your HDL levels. In order to raise your HDL, restrict your daily intake by 500 calories. This can result in a pound of weight loss every week. According to the Mayo Clinic, for every two pounds of weight you lose, you can increase your HDL by 0.35 mg/dL.
Step 5
Eat healthy fats. Fats that are saturated should be eliminated from your diet. These can be found in deep fried foods, processed meats, eggs, whole-fat dairy products and commercial baked goods. Mono and polyunsaturated fats, on the other hand, are healthy and can improve your HDL levels. These fats can be found in foods like canola oil, olives, olive oil, nuts, seeds and cold-water fish like salmon, herring, mackerel, tuna and halibut. Top your salads with chopped nuts, saute vegetables with olive oil and substitute high fat meats for fish a few nights a week.
