How to boost your ‘good’ cholesterol .

Don’t smoke. If you smoke, quit. Quitting smoking can increase your HDL cholesterol by up to 10 percent. Quitting isn’t easy, but you can increase your odds of success by trying more than one strategy at a time. Talk with your doctor about your options for quitting.Lose weight. Extra pounds take a toll on HDL cholesterol. If you’re overweight, losing even a few pounds can improve your HDL level. For every 6 pounds (2.7 kilograms) you lose, your HDL may increase by 1 mg/dL (0.03 mmol/L). If you focus on becoming more physically active and choosing healthier foods — two other ways to increase your HDL cholesterol — you’ll likely move toward a healthier weight in the process.
Get more physical activity. Within two months of starting, frequent aerobic exercise can increase HDL cholesterol by about 5 percent in otherwise healthy sedentary adults. Your best bet for increasing HDL cholesterol is to exercise briskly for 30 minutes, five times a week. Examples of brisk, aerobic exercise include walking, running, cycling, swimming, playing basketball, raking leaves — anything that increases your heart rate. You can also break up your daily activity into three 10 minute segments if you’re having difficulty finding time to exercise.If your doctor prescribes medication to help control your cholesterol, take it as directed while you continue to focus on a healthy lifestyle.If your doctor prescribes medication to help control your cholesterol, take it as directed while you continue to focus on a healthy lifestyle.
Some foods may have a healthy effect on blood cholesterol levels. Some options include:
Whole grains, such as oatmeal, oat bran and whole-wheat products
Nuts, such as walnuts, almonds and brazil nuts
Plant sterols such as beta-sitosterol and -sitostanol (typically found in margarine spreads such as Promise activ or Benecol)
Omega-3 fatty acids, such as fatty fish, fish oil supplements, flaxseeds and flaxseed oil
If you’re currently taking medications, talk to your doctor before starting any supplement, to avoid potential harmful interactions.Choose healthier fats. A healthy diet includes some fat, but there’s a limit. In a heart-healthy diet, between 25 and 35 percent of your total daily calories can come from fat — but saturated fat should account for less than 7 percent of your total daily calories. Avoid foods that contain saturated and trans fats, which raise LDL cholesterol and damage your blood vessels.

Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats — found in olive, peanut and canola oils — tend to improve HDL’s anti-inflammatory abilities. Nuts, fish and other foods containing omega-3 fatty acids are other good choices for improving your LDL cholesterol to HDL cholesterol ratio.

Drink alcohol only in moderation. Moderate use of alcohol has been linked with higher levels of HDL cholesterol. If you choose to drink alcohol, do so in moderation. This means no more than one drink a day for women and everyone over age 65, and two drinks a day for men. If you don’t drink alcohol, don’t start just to try raising your HDL levels.