How To Raise Your ‘Good' Cholesterol Levels

While cholesterol is a complex substance, most of us are familiar with two of its primary components: LDL (bad cholesterol) and HDL (good cholesterol).

- Dr Suresh Shottam

So far, both doctors and their patients have focused on reducing LDL cholesterol as a key part of their treatment regimen. However, new research at Baylor College of Medicine shows that having too little HDL cholesterol may be more damaging and may even be more predictive of heart disease than LDL. In fact, in people with heart disease, the most common cholesterol problem is too little HDL.

“Even if their total cholesterol and LDL levels are normal, people with reduced levels of HDL have an increased risk of early coronary artery disease,” says Richard N. Fogoros, M.D.

Some good news

Even a slight increase in HDL goes a long way. It’s estimated that for every 1 mg/dl increase in HDL cholesterol, there is a 2% to 4% decrease in your risk of coronary heart disease.

Should you use drugs to raise HDL cholesterol?