What it Means to Have Low HDL Levels

Your HDL levels help determine if you are at risk for dangerous health conditions. There are many factors that affect this level, including genetics and lifestyle. The key is to change what you can.

Identification

• Blood cholesterol is made up of two types: HDL, which is helpful to your body, and LDL, which is harmful. They each have separate functions within your system.

Significance

• LDL facilitates the buildup of plague in your arteries by transporting fat and dropping it off there. HDL facilitates the removal of plague in your arteries by transporting fat away. The less plague you have in your arteries, the less at risk you are for heart attack and stroke.

Potential

• The more HDL you have, the more carriers you have to take unhealthy plague out of your arteries. The optimal level is 60 mg per deciliter of blood. Levels below 40 mg per deciliter of blood for men and 50 mg per deciliter of blood for women are considered high risk.

Prevention/Solution

• To help raise your HDL levels, eat a diet full of nuts, grains and vegetables, drink 5 oz. of wine or one 12 oz. beer a day if you are a woman or 10 oz. of wine or two 12 oz. beers a day if you are a man and get in a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise at least three days a week.

Warning

• Low HDL levels can put you at greater risk of heart attack or stroke, so have your levels checked once a year if you are known to have high total cholesterol levels or once every five years if your cholesterol is normal.