3 Ways To Increase HDL Cholesterol

We often hear about decreasing our cholesterol levels but increasing them for health? There are two types of cholesterol - the good and the bad. The bad cholesterol is called LDL cholesterol and high levels of it can cause arterial blockage and heart problems. HDL cholesterol is actually your “good” cholesterol which cleans out the walls of your blood vessels of the LDL cholesterol. It carries that excess cholesterol back to the liver for processing and basically cleans out the blood vessels. For this reason, it is equally as important to have low LDL cholesterol levels as it is to have high HDL cholesterol levels. Here are three ways to increase your HDL cholesterol levels:

1. Aerobic exercise.  Yet another reason to exercise besides weight loss - regular aerobic exercise increases your HDL cholesterol levels significantly. Recent evidence suggests that the duration of exercise, rather than the intensity, is the more important factor in raising HDL cholesterol. What this means is that you should exercise for longer periods of time - 45 minutes to 1 hour of aerobic exercise 3-5 times a week is ideal.

2. Increase your levels of Niacin. Niacin which is also known as nicotinic acid or vitamin B3 is effective at raising HDL cholesterol levels by up to 35%. Niacin can be found in most multivitamins and by itself but it is best to take it in very low doses as side effects may occur. The dose found in multivitamins is usually perfect although you may feel flushed and itchy the first couple times you take it if your body is not used to Niacin.

3. Alcohol. If you don’t drink at all then don’t start now but if you do, alcohol in moderation can be an effective way to increase good cholesterol levels. One or two drinks a day can be good for both your cholesterol level and your heart.  More than one or two drinks per day can cause more harm than good, so make sure to cap it off after a few. The healthiest alcoholic beverages are red or white wine or a light beer. Stay away from hard alcohol mixed with sugary pop or other calorie laden drinks such as pina colodas or daquiries.

Keeping your LDL cholesterol down while boosting your HDL cholesterol levels isn&undefined;t hard because many of the same things work to do both. It boils down to getting plenty of exercise, eating right, increasing your intake of good fats and eliminating bad ones, and watching what you eat and drink.