Keeping Your Heart Strong by Bumping Up Your Good Cholesterol
When it comes to talking about having a healthy heart, a word that gets used a lot is cholesterol. There’s a lot of confusing information out there, so we are here to clear a few things up.
Cholesterol is a fat that is in the blood, and it is a very important part of the body. There are a few kinds of cholesterol. Some are good and some are bad for the heart.
When bad cholesterol is too high, it can put you at a higher risk for heart disease. This may show up in different ways such as chest pain, a heart attack, high blood pressure or stroke. Food, exercise and a few other things can act on two types of cholesterol in the body which are called LDL (Low-Density Lipoprotein) or “lousy” cholesterol is an easy way to remember it.
There is also HDL (High-Density Lipoprotein) cholesterol, “happy” cholesterol. HDL cholesterol is known as the “good” cholesterol which can help to get rid of the LDL cholesterol in your blood.
Other than the food that you eat, some things that could affect your LDL and HDL cholesterol like family history of high cholesterol or heart disease, foods high in saturated and trans fats, such as fried foods and baked goods, exercise, and smoking.
If you hear someone talking about how they need to lower their cholesterol levels, they are usually talking about their LDL cholesterol. This is very important to do, but it is also great to work on raising your HDL cholesterol levels too.
Here are some things to think about when trying to raise your good cholesterol
1. Read Food Labels and Choose Healthier Fats
When choosing different foods, take a quick look at the Nutrition Facts label, this shows you how much fat there is and what types of fats they are. The total fat shows the amount of unsaturated and saturated fats together. The amount of saturated and trans fats is shown on the label, and it is important to make sure these are low, as eating too many can lower your good cholesterol and raise your bad cholesterol.
For example, if you were to look at the nutrition facts label for Oreo Cookies, you would see that there are 7g of total fat and 2g of saturated fat. If you were to then look at another cookie such as a Banana Bread Bear Paw Cookie, the nutrition facts label shows that there are 6g of total fat and 1.5g of saturated fat. You would want to pick the cookie that has the lowest amount of saturated fat, which would be the Bear Paw Cookie.
2. Eat Heart Healthy Foods
Eating foods that are high in both healthy fats or fibre can keep your cholesterol in check. Unsaturated fats are known as the good fats and eating these can help to raise your HDL cholesterol. Some foods that have unsaturated fats are char, seal, walrus, beluga, salmon, sardines, tuna, olive oil, fish oil, avocado, nuts, and seeds. Foods that are high fibre are oats, beans, fruits, and vegetables. Try to eat these high fibre foods and foods with unsaturated fats more often.
3. Getting Active
Exercising at least 3 days a week can help to raise HDL cholesterol levels, which also helps your general heart health. It is good to aim for 150 minutes a week or 20 minutes per day, but every little bit counts. The goal is to get your heart rate up when doing your activities.
Physical activity where you get out a little out of breath, can change your HDL cholesterol the most. This could include activities like running, riding a bike, or playing sports. Other activities such as walking, doing household chores and dancing around can also help.
4. Lower Tobacco Use or Try to Quit Tobacco
Smoking is a habit that can make you at a higher risk for heart disease. When you are smoking, it lowers your HDL cholesterol levels and raises your LDL cholesterol levels. Reach out to public health for more support.
What can you start doing today to keep your heart healthy?