Raising your good cholesterol can be just as important as lowering your bad cholesterol. Raise your HDL level by just 1 mg/dL, and you lower your risk of suffering a heart attack by 3 percent. Increasing your HDL level to more than 60 mg/dL improves your overall heart health and reduces your risk for cardiovascular disease. There are several lifestyle changes you can make in order to get your good cholesterol up.
Step 1
Get moving with brisk aerobic exercise. Ideally, you should make time to work out for four or five 30-minute sessions per week, but it's even better if you can exercise every day. Aerobic exercise is any workout that increases your heart rate, including running, biking, swimming, dancing or even raking leaves.
Step 2
Stop smoking. It's no easy task to give up cigarettes, but the HDL of benefits of giving up cigarettes are significant, averaging an increase of about 4 mg/dL.
Step 3
Start a healthy weight-loss plan if your body mass index (BMI) is higher than 25, or if you're carrying around a few extra pounds. Aim to lose 1 lb. a week through a combination of diet and exercise. For every pound you lose, your HDL levels will increase by .35 mg/dL.
Step 4
Have one drink with dinner. Alcohol---regardless of type---boosts good cholesterol by an average of 4 mg/dL with regular consumption. (Of course, if you have problems with addiction or your liver, the risks of alcohol consumption outweigh the benefits.)
Step 5
Eat less saturated fat (in the form of fried foods, spreads, butters and baked goods), and get more polyunsaturated fat instead. Foods high in polyunsaturated fat include cold-water fish like salmon and tuna, nuts, olive oil and shellfish.
Step 6
Limit your consumption of carbohydrates, such as bread, pasta and potatoes. High-carbohydrate foods are associated with lower HDL levels.
Tips and Warnings
- Talk to your doctor about trying niacin or vitamin B3 supplements. According to researchers at Johns Hopkins University, niacin can raise good cholesterol levels as much as 30 percent, but because it can have strong effects, it's best to take niacin with a doctor's supervision.
- If you're making big changes in your diet and exercise habits, always check with your doctor before getting started.
