These days it is not enough to lower your cholesterol to maximize your heart health. You now have to lower your LDL, or bad cholesterol, while raising your HDL, or good cholesterol. It is widely known that lowering the amount of saturated fats found in fatty and red meat, and trans fats in baked goods and snack foods are one way to reduce your cholesterol. Less widely well known is what HDL is, why it is important and how to get more of it in your body.

Effects of Cholesterol

LDL is bad because it is the cholesterol that builds up in and hardens the arteries, leading to coronary artery disease. HDL, however, actually helps to reverse the process of LDL build up in the arteries by picking up extra cholesterol in your blood and taking it back to your liver, where it is eventually disposed of. It is also suspected that HDL has several properties that protect your blood vessels, arteries and heart. In men the average range of HDL is 40 to 50 mg/dL. In women it is 50 to 60 mg/dL, due to the beneficial effects of female hormones.

Smoking

Smoking is one big factor in lowering the amount of HDL in the blood, so quitting smoking will raise your HDL from 15 percent to 20 percent, among many other health benefits. Get your doctor's help in finding a "quit smoking" method that will work for you. You may need to try more than once, which is normal, but the health benefits are worth it.

Exercise

Aerobic exercise, like a brisk walk, can raise your HDL by 5 percent in just two months, according to the Mayo Clinic. You can choose other forms of exercise to find one that you like and can stick with--just remember that the goal is to get your heart rate up for 30 minutes, five times a week. This could net you a 5 percent to 10 percent increase in HDL.

Diet

Changing your dietary habits can make the single-most difference in your cholesterol levels, including your HDL. Choosing healthier fats by replacing saturated and trans fats with mono-and polyunsaturated fats found in nuts, seeds, avocados, and olive and canola oils helps to increase your ratio of HDL to LDL. Eat more fruits and vegetable and avoid refined sugar. Losing even a few extra pounds and maintaining a healthy weight increases your HDL. For every six pounds lost, your HDL increases by about one mg/dL. Keep your alcohol intake at moderate levels--no more than one drink per day for women and two per day for men.

Medication

Medication can also play its part in increasing your HDL. Niacin, statins like Crestor and Lipitor and fibrates like Lopid, all help bump up your HDL. Niacin can help by as much as 30 percent. The best results are achieved with a combination of diet, exercise, not smoking and medication. They can add up as a bunch of small increases that make a huge impact on your heart health.

Source:

Mayo Clinic: HDL cholesterol: How to boost your 'good' cholesterol

Harvard Health Publications: 5 tips to increase HDL cholesterol: Harvard Health Publications

University of Masachusetts Medical School: What You Can Do to Raise Your HDL, the Good Cholesterol; University of Massachusetts Medical School