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You knew that HDL cholesterol is the 'good' cholesterol. Did you know that taking steps to increase your HDL levels by 1% will decrease your chance of developing heart disease or cardiovascular problems by 3%? That's a pretty good percentage ratio!

Right now, common medical wisdom says that 'normal' HDL is 35 mg/dl or higher. Most doctors don't worry about your levels if you are at 35 mg/dl. Recent statistics are showing that those numbers are out of date, however. There is a movement among some medical researchers and doctors to have the normal HDL level raised.

When you look at it in terms of future benefit to your heart' health by having more HDL cholesterol helping dispose of bad cholesterol, it's hard to argue with raising the normal HDL level. Up until now cholesterol therapy has concentrated on lowering LDL, with little thought given to raising HDL. That's about to change.

With the link between higher HDL and cardiovascular benefits becoming more clear, new therapies are arising that focus on raising your HDL levels past current standards of normal. The new normal levels would more accurately reflect the population's risk factors. Currently, men with an HDL of less than 40 experience more cardiovascular issues. The current normal level of HDL for men is 35. For women the current normal level of HDL is 40.

So how do you go about raising your HDL levels? There are new drug therapies that can help if your HDL is dangerously low and you have other risk factors for cardiovascular incidents and disease. One of these is simvastatin, which has been known to raise the level of HDL by 17%. Of course the drawback here is the large dosage that must be given to see any real effect.

There are a variety of other ways to give your HDL levels a boost, and some of them are even fun. You could start jogging or running. It's been showing that running 10 miles a week can boost your levels by as much as 25%. You can have a glass or two of red wine each evening to relax. Moderate quantities of certain types of alcohol have been shown to increase HDL levels by almost 15%.

Quitting smoking gives you 12% over time, while losing weight boosts your levels by 10 ' 20% depending on how much you lose. Taking niacin (B3) brings your level up 15 ' 20% if you take 375 mg a day. Then there is drug therapy, like simvastatin and estrogen, which can give a 5 ' 10% boost. However you choose to make the increase ' lifestyle and diet or drug therapy, try and get your HDL levels to a new norm, just for you, that is as high as you can make it go.