Know What The Best Good Cholesterol Levels Are

Cholesterol, no doubt has been a major cause for worry for a number of years, and in fact, it is only in the recent past that research has thrown up information that is helping the medical fraternity to have a better understanding of cholesterol, of which good cholesterol is one type. Thus, it is desirable that a person be able to increase his or her levels of good cholesterol, while at the same time also reducing bad cholesterol levels, and in fact, it is important for the average person to first of all understand what good cholesterol is and how it functions so that it then becomes possible to learn how best to raise levels of it.

High Density Lipoprotein

Good cholesterol is also referred to as high density lipoprotein or HDL and by itself, cholesterol is neither good nor bad, and it also depends on the type of carrier that your cholesterol happens to be. In the case of good cholesterol, the cholesterol will be removed from the heart and arteries and sent to the liver where it is broken down and eliminated from the body. Thus, it stands to reason that raising good cholesterol will enable you to have a healthy heart, and so, a level of sixty mg/dl or more is what you would want.

However, not everybody can achieve the desired levels of good cholesterol which means that you would need to take steps to ensure that it can be raised and among other things, performing aerobic exercises and also taking to walking, bike riding as well as swimming will do you a world of good in this regard. Another alternative which will help raise your good cholesterol levels is to lose weight, and of course you must quit smoking and not eat Trans fatty acids either.

Thus, you will need to severely control, if not totally eliminate consuming fried fast food meals or pre-packaged foods that contain unwanted Trans fatty acids, and drinking alcohol too can help increase good cholesterol levels, though its consumption should not exceed a glass or two, since excessive alcohol consumption can damage the heart.

In any case, a drink or two of alcohol on a daily basis can elevate your good cholesterol levels and so can eating of soluble fibers. The ideal good cholesterol level is of course 60 mg/dl though having a level of at least 30 mg/dl for women and 40 mg/dl in case of men is also considered adequate.