What is High HDL Cholesterol and its Significance to Health

What is High HDL Cholesterol and its Significance to Health

Hyperalphalipoproteinemia or HALP is the medical term for the condition wherein the body registers high HDL cholesterol level. This has a positive contribution the overall health of the person. HDL level should be at least 50mg for every deciliter of blood for females and for men the level should be at least 40mg. High HDL cholesterol in the blood is effective in combating the effects of the bad cholesterol and triglycerides.

What is high HDL cholesterol level? How does it work in the body? We are familiar with the fact that cholesterol is generally bad for our health. That is true to most cholesterol, but is just the opposite of HDL or the high density lipoproteins. Risk of coronary heart diseases and other cardiovascular disorders are effectively lowered with the good level of HDL in the blood. They work as cleaners of our arteries as they remove fat lipids lining the artery walls and transferring them to the liver where they are broken into smaller, more solution pieces. This process keeps the bloodstreams wide open to facilitate healthy blood flow.

Encouraging high HDL cholesterol level, while keeping LDLs and triglycerides at the minimum is easy. Here few health tricks to help you;

Ø  Maintain a low cholesterol diet – Make healthy food choices. Vegetables, fruits, fishes, whole grains and beans are all foods that are low in fat and cholesterol. Keep them in your food list. You should avoid foods with high content of saturated fats. These include fried foods, eggs, processed meat, diary products, pre-baked products like rich muffins, pastries and crackers. Calories from saturated fats should no more than 10% of the total calorie intake.

Ø  Choose the good oils – Oils shouldn’t be totally eliminated from the diet. Your body still needs the benefits from the good oils like Omega3 and vegetable oils. Most fatty fishes have the heart friendly Omega3 oil, while nuts, olive and canola give good oils. On the other hand, solid fats are high in trans fat. This is the most dangerous fat for the body as it counters the work of the HDLs, leaving them ineffective. Trans fat are common in butter, margarines, cheeses and oleo.

Ø  Stay away from destructive vices – Excessive alcohol drinking and drug abuse could damage the nerves and numb the muscles. By quitting smoking, your good cholesterol level can increase by up to 10%.

Ø  Be more active – Another way to encourage high HDL cholesterol level is by adopting a more active lifestyle. You don’t need structured exercising or gym visits to exercise.  Simple daily activities can level up into vigorous activities that can start your heart pounding. Do your own housecleanings instead of hiring cleaners, run instead of walking your dogs, nix the elevators and use the stairs and brisk walk. In as short as two months, you can increase your HDL cholesterol level by 5%.

Ø  Maintain your ideal weight – Losing weight is not easy, but if you will just follow the above tricks, weight loss will naturally follow. And for every 6 pounds you lose, you gain 1% increase in your HDL level.