I too am trying to raise my HDL levels so I found this
article very interesting.
Increasing Good Cholesterol Levels- Part 1
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Keto]Jeff Keto
As most people who are fighting with cholesterol levels know
there are two types of cholesterol; good cholesterol, or HDL
(high-density lipoproteins) and bad cholesterol, or LDL
(low-density lipoproteins). HDL scour the walls of the blood
vessels, sweeping away excess fat and bad cholesterol in the
blood and carries it back to the liver for processing,
preventing plaque build-up. We've all heard that it is
important to decrease bad cholesterol, but it is just as
important to keep our HDL levels high.
A couple of years ago I suffered a stroke. I have worked
hard to decrease my bad cholesterol from extremely high levels
to much lower healthy levels. But I never realized that it is
also important to monitor your good cholesterol levels. Blood
tests showed that all my health indicators were at fantastic
levels, except that I had lowered my good cholesterol levels
and needed to increase them. My HDL measured at 32 mg/dL. An
HDL reading less than 40 mg/dL is considered to be a major risk
factor for heart disease, with a reading between 40 and 50
mg/dL recommended, while readings over 60 mg/dL indicate a
significantly lowered risk of heart disease. So, I have set out
to find as many ways as possible to raise my HDL cholesterol to
higher levels.
Exercise is one of the best ways to raise good cholesterol
while also keeping bad cholesterol levels in check. Studies
show that people who exercise regularly tend to have higher
HDL. Research shows that HDL may be elevated as much as 20
percent from regular aerobic exercise that expends at least 800
to 1,200 calories per week. For example, walking at 3 miles per
hour burns roughly 300 calories per hour, so walking 3 to 4
hours a week would meet this goal. Aerobic exercise is any
constant activity that increases your heart rate.
Other studies show that the duration of exercise, rather
than the intensity is a more important factor in raising HDL.
Any aerobic exercise will have a greater effect the longer you
can participate in that activity. Instead of increasing how
hard you exercise, try adding a little more time to your
activity for the greater HDL benefits. Studies show that for
every 10 minutes of additional exercise HDL may increase by 1.4
mg/dL.
Please note that exercise has a powerful, yet short-lived
effect, so it is important to exercise on a consistent
basis.
The extra benefit of regular exercise is weight loss, which
is also a factor to help raise good cholesterol levels.
Researchers found that every kilogram (2.2 pounds) of weight a
patient loses results in average increases to HDL levels of
0.35 mg/dL. Besides feeling better and looking fantastic, you
will also get the healthy benefits of raising good
cholesterol.
As you can see, exercise has great benefits for cholesterol
management with other great healthy side effects. Activate the
natural healing and get walking, hiking, swimming, biking or
whatever. Just increase your activity and control what you
eat.
The next articles, Increasing Good Cholesterol Levels Parts
2-5, will discuss other methods to increase your good
cholesterol levels, including foods and supplements that will
help raise HDL.
Jeff Keto -
[http://ThingsYouWantToKnow.com/html/cholesterol.html]http://ThingsYouWantToKnow.com
Check out his new e-book explaining how he cured his diabetes,
normalized blood pressure and raised his good cholesterol while
reducing LDL levels.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Keto
http://EzineArticles.com/?Increasing-Good-Cholesterol-Levels---Part-1&id=2359242
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