8756
HOW TO RAISE GOOD HDL CHOLESTEROL
If your good HDL cholesterol is below 35, you are at increased risk for heart attacks. You can reduce chances of suffering a heart attack by two percent for every mg/dl rise in HDL.
To raise HDL cholesterol, run at least seven miles a week or burn at least 1200 calories with exercise per week. Lose weight. For every pound of fat lost, expect a one percent rise in HDL (1).
Exercise before you eat fat. A study at the University of Missouri shows that exercising regularly before eating high-fat meals raises HDL cholesterol considerably (2). Exercise stimulates the fat-clearing enzyme, lipoprotein lipase, which drops triglycerides to produce more HDL cholesterol.
Don't smoke. A study at Vanderbilt University showed that within just one week of quitting smoking, HDL levels increased by seven points.
Avoid refined carbohydrates -- sugar, flour, white rice and milled corn. Foods that cause a spike in blood sugar drop your HDL cholesterol. You raise HDL by exercising and avoiding refined carbohydrates.
1) Peter Kokkinos, a clinical exercise physiologist at Georgetown University who observed the effect in 3,000 men.
2) Tom Thomas, at the U of Missouri.
Checked 12/14/07