Sunday, November 30, 2008

Raise HDL Cholesterol Levels In Your Blood

By Andy Austim

When your physician hands you the diagnosis that you have high cholesterol levels and you must change your lifestyle to reduce your cholesterol, you should also be striving to raise HDL cholesterol levels in your blood. When cholesterol is elevated, the HDL cholesterol has been proven to decrease the LDL cholesterol that is bad and help you prevent the problems that come with having a high cholesterol number.

If your HDL cholesterol is at a low level, you may have a greater chance of developing heart disease. Low HDL cholesterol levels will cause the LDL cholesterol to stay in the arteries where it can cause a blockage. If you raise HDL cholesterol, this causes LDL cholesterol to move from your arteries and go to your liver where it can be processed.

Being careful about the foods you eat is the first step that a doctor will take to attempt to reduce your overall cholesterol levels. You should go to see a nutritionist to get information about the foods that are helpful to raise HDL cholesterol, while decreasing LDL cholesterol simultaneously. Usually your diet will have limited fat and sugar and plenty of lean protein, vegetables and fruits.

You should do plenty of research and plan out a fun, easy exercise routine targeted to reduce excess weight and bad cholesterol. This will help you to raise HDL cholesterol and thus help to unclog your arteries. Daily attention to your health, by way of proper diet and exercise, can result in a decrease in your risk of most forms of heart disease.

Once you switch over to low fat diet and regular exercise, teach this healthy living technique to the rest of your family. By this you will not only be maintaining your own health, but will also help in maintaining the good health of all your family members. A healthy diet is not always easy to follow, but once you get used to it, it's a piece of cake. By being a role model for your children, you will be helping them safeguard their health. This will play an important role in their future health also.

There are various sources from which you can get information on how to eat and live healthy. Eating healthy as well as tasty food is what everyone would like, and these recipes can be found in many cookbooks. With the help of these books, you can cook food which will help you lower your LDL levels and raise HDL cholesterol levels.

If you can lower your cholesterol solely by the way you eat, then you may not need to take medicine. Keep in mind however that you might not be able to decrease LDL cholesterol levels and raise HDL cholesterol with a diet only. You will need to discuss this with your physician and he will decide if you need to take medicine. - 15995

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