Vigorous exercise and moderate alcohol consumption are two ways to raise heart-healthy HDL cholesterol. Joe Vinson, Ph.D., a chemistry professor at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, also found that drinking three glasses of cranberry juice a day for a month boosted people's HDLs by an average of 10 percent, which in turn lowers heart-disease risk by 40 percent. Vinson suggests low-calorie cranberry juice, which contains 45 calories and 11 grams of sugar per 8 ounces, compared with 144 calories and 34 grams of sugar in the regular variety.

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