HDL or high-density lipoprotein is good cholesterol. This is the type of cholesterol that you want, as it can actually help protect you against health issues such as heart disease by cleaning up LDL -- low-density lipoprotein -- otherwise known as bad cholesterol. HDL brings LDL to the liver where it can be broken down. In order to raise your HDL, you can turn to vitamin B-3 or niacin.
HDL Goal
You'll want to reach a goal for raising your HDL. Mayo Clinic explains that the desirable average goal is a number above 60 mg/dL. Men are at risk of heart disease, heart attack or stroke if their HDL levels fall below 40 mg/dL, while women are at risk below 50 mg/dL.
Niacin for HDL
To raise HDL, vitamins can help, particularly vitamin B-3. Other names for vitamin B-3 are niacin, nioctinic acid or niacinamide. Niacin can be taken either alone, or with cholesterol medications to help raise HDL levels. The Vitamins and Supplements Guide website explains that niacin "is more effective in increasing HDL levels than other cholesterol-lowering medications." Mayo Clinic states that niacin may be able to raise HDL by 15 to 35 percent.
How it Works
The way niacin boosts good cholesterol is not fully understood; however, there is one experiment that can give an inside look at the way one form of niacin does help HDL. According to a study reported in the "Journal of Lipid Research" in 2008, a type of niacin called nicotinic acid doesn't actually produce HDL. It can help to boost HDL levels, but not necessarily by creating good cholesterol. The study discovered that nicotinic acid actually helps maintain HDL by reducing populations of a component of a type of protein called ATP synthase. Also referred to as a beta chain, ATP synthase resides in liver cells and can move HDL out from the bloodstream and discard it. Nicotinic acid reduces ATP synthase therefore leaving more HDL in the blood. Results of the study concluded that there was as much as a 35 percent HDL increase when nicotinic acid was present.
Sources
You can find niacin in pill form either as a multivitamin or as its own supplement over the counter. Foods that also contain vitamin B-3 include eggs, poultry, fish and dairy products.
Considerations
While raising your HDL, you can also try to lower your LDL levels. You can do this by turning to nutrients including omega-3 fatty acids or good fats. Rich sources of omega-3 are fish, canola oil and olive oil. Fish oil is filled with omega-3 and comes in easy-to-swallow capsules.
References
- Mayo Clinic: HDL Cholesterol: How to Boost Your 'Good' Cholesterol
- Vitamins and Health Supplements Guide: Vitamin B3 (Niacin, Nicotinic Acid, Nicotinamide, Niacinamide)
- Mayo Clinic: Niacin to Boost Your HDL, 'Good,' Cholesterol
- Journal of Lipid Research: Niacin Inhibits Surface Expression of Atp Synthase β Chain in Hepg2 Cells: Implications for Raising HDL
- American Heart Association: Fish and Omega-3 Fatty Acids
