Easy Exercise Tips

• Exercise, the dreaded E word. chances are, if you're getting 20 to 60 minutes of exercise a day, your HDL levels wouldn't be low to begin with. The secret to making exercise fun (and thereby easy) might lie in finding your favorite exercise. You might like learn-to-dance videos, riding a bicycle, kayaking, swimming or jogging. It isn't necessary for everyone to join a health club, you can move your body however you wish, as long as you do it. Some people find that they are able to exercise easier if they have a pushy friend to remind them; some couples find that it's easier to get exercise if they hire a sitter and go work out together, or plan a family hiking trip in the mountains. For injecting teeny bits of exercise into your busy schedule, take the stairs, park in the farthest parking space and chase your kids or dogs around.
  
  

Lose Weight

• Who can say whether obesity is a cause of low HDL levels, or a side-effect of lifestyle activities that cause low HDL's? Either way, when the weight goes down, the HDL generally goes up. Avoiding hydrogenated fats, also called trans fats, is one way to lose weight and raise your HDL cholesterol. Another way is to increase the amount of fiber in your diet, drink more water and avoid refined grains and sugars in favor of whole grains, which are higher in essential fatty acids and have fiber, whereas refined (or white) flour is stripped of its fiber and nutrients.
  
  

Stop Smoking

• Quitting smoking is one tool that will likely bring HDL levels up. Ask your doctor about new smoking cessation treatments, including devices to stop smoking and prescription medications.
  
  

A Glass of Red Wine

• According to the Mayo Clinic, "moderate use of alcohol has been linked with higher levels of HDL cholesterol." The generally accepted form of moderate use is in the form of a glass of red wine each day. Alcoholism is a serious problem in the U.S., though, so this recommendation has been met with scrutiny. Only you know whether it's an easy tip for you. Someone who is recovering from alcoholism, or avoids alcohol on the grounds of family history, may not find this a good tool to use, and should skip it.
  
  

Soluble Fiber

• Perhaps you've seen the cereal commercials boasting that "Brand X lowered my cholesterol." The truth is, no cereal company has the secret cholesterol-lowering ingredient. In fact, soluble fiber is simply part of nature, and it's widely available in all whole grains, including oat products, fruits, vegetables and legumes.