Today, westerners are so aware of the damage caused by high cholesterol levels. We know that we should lower our cholesterol levels for better heart health by eating less red meat, losing weight, giving up smoking and the rest. However, there is actually "good" cholesterol called high-density lipoprotein (HDL), the levels of which we should actively increase for a healthy heart. Fancy that!

Scrub those arteries
The cholesterol that's marked as "bad" is low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and is what sticks to the walls of our arteries, constricting blood flow and resulting in high blood pressure and even more seriously, heart failure. HDL is said to clean the arteries of LDL, pushing it towards the liver to be processed rather than leaving it to gather. To this end, doctors believe that the an HDL level of between 40-60mg/dL (milligrams per decilitre) is normal and anything above 60mg/dL may prevent coronary artery disease and other cardiovascular problems.

Dr Richard N. Fogoros, formerly a professor of medecine at the University of Pittsburgh, USA, says: "When we measure a person's HDL cholesterol level, we seem to be measuring how vigorously his or her blood vessels are being "scrubbed" free of cholesterol."

Dietary methods
Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to raise our HDL levels, including dietary additions and subtractions. Some excellent additions would be polyunsaturated fatty acids found in avocadoes, olive, soy and flaxseed oil, nuts, cold-water fish and shellfish. Soluble dietary fibre, found in oats, fruit and vegetables, can also help reduce LDL and raise HDL cholesterol significantly.

Exercise and body weight
Aerobic exercise is one of the main ways to raise HDL and it's important to make sure that you raise your heart rate for 20-30 minutes to achieve maximum results. Losing weight can also help, but it is also important to focus on the waist-to-hip ratio as if there is a surplus of fat stored around the abdomen, this can have a bearing on our heart health too. If you divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement, you will get a ratio – for women a healthy ratio is 0.8 or less and for men, 1.0 or less.

Lastly, one or two units of alcohol per day can help raise HDL levels. In a report published by the John Hopkins University School of Medicine, it was found that one or two drinks per day can raise HDL levels by as much as 4mg/dL, irrespective of which alcohol is consumed.