How do you raise HDL values is a question that more and more people are starting to ask as the relationship between high cholesterol and heart disease continues to strengthen.
In this informational article titled "How Do You Raise HDL Values" we will work to explain why learning how to be smart about cholesterol could literally save your life.
There is no group that is immune to coronary artery disease.
In fact a recent study found that dangerous plaque deposits can start to form in the arteries of very young children age 4 and older.
This is scary thought for many of us, who ate foods that where extremely high in saturated fat when we were growing up.
In fact, we probably begged for them.
The kids of today probably eat better but if you take a trip down to your local fast food restaurant you may find what they are consuming is not all that much different than it was years ago.
Sure there are healthy choices for the parents and children alike but what kid in his right mind wants a fruit bowl instead of a slice of pie.
Cholesterol is what I would call a sneaky killer.
It really produces no symptoms and takes a long time to form a blockage severe enough to actually produce a coronary event.
But what if there was something you could do to dramatically reduce your chances of every having the dreaded coronary event.
Would it be something worth considering? Would it be an idea worth considering for your children? I think most people would answer yes and YES! The answer to these questions is by raising HDL or good cholesterol levels.
Now why don't we move on to finding out how do you increase HDL values.
The answers we are looking for are right in front of us beginning with the most obvious of all exercise.
Implementing an activity that keeps your heart rate moderately elevated for 30 minutes a day is the trick.
It appears the longer the heart rate stays slightly elevated through activities such as walking, hiking, or cycling the better the chances of seeing a dramatic improvement in HDL/LDL ratios.
Nevertheless, we will take what we can get and if you can't find time to squeeze in 30 minutes a day any amount of heart elevating exercise will help.
You are what you eat as the old saying goes and this certainly applies to cholesterol.
Certain foods could be just what the doctor ordered; that is if he was asking how do you increase HDL values? The best of the best include avocado oil, avocados, apples, cold water fatty fish, walnuts, pecans, almonds, pistachios, oat bran, beans, cranberries/cranberry juice and blueberries/blueberry juice.
The two to put on the top of your list are apples and avocados closely followed by baked cold water fish or possibly a high DHA/EPA fish oil supplement.
What Next? Lowering cholesterol, in most cases, is about changing old habits, adopting new healthier habits, and enlisting the help of convention medications such as statins or natural cholesterol reducing remedies if needed.
Put simply, this basically means finding ways to increase HDL (good cholesterol) and decrease LDL (bad cholesterol levels).
Certainly the aforementioned statin drugs will be one of your options but they do carry a number of serious label warnings.
The side effect risks have made natural cholesterol reduction supplements combined with diet modification an alternative treatment combination worth considering.