HDL Cholesterol: Normal Range & How to Increase Low HDL

The most effective ways to raise HDL cholesterol are lifestyle-based: regular aerobic exercise, quitting smoking, losing excess weight, and replacing refined carbohydrates and trans fats with unsaturated fats like olive oil, nuts, and fatty fish. Moderate alcohol intake is also linked to higher HDL, though it isn't recommended as a strategy given alcohol's other health risks. Medications are rarely prescribed solely to raise HDL, since drugs that raise the HDL number haven't consistently improved heart outcomes — talk to your doctor about lifestyle changes and your overall cardiovascular risk instead.

Low HDL cholesterol — generally below 40 mg/dL in men or below 50 mg/dL in women — means your body has a reduced capacity to clear excess cholesterol from your bloodstream, which is associated with higher cardiovascular risk. Common contributors include smoking, physical inactivity, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and a diet high in refined carbohydrates. Low HDL is usually addressed through lifestyle changes rather than medication.

An HDL cholesterol of 60 mg/dL or higher is generally considered favorable for heart health, while levels below 40 mg/dL (men) or 50 mg/dL (women) are considered low and linked to higher cardiovascular risk. Interestingly, very high HDL (above roughly 90 mg/dL) isn't necessarily more protective and can sometimes reflect genetics rather than lower risk.

Very high HDL, generally above about 90 mg/dL, isn't automatically a sign of better heart health — some of it may be explained by genetics, and research hasn't consistently shown extra cardiovascular protection at extremely high levels. This doesn't make a high HDL dangerous or something to panic over; it's still an active area of research, so an unusually high result is best discussed with your doctor rather than assumed to be entirely favorable or treated as a red flag.