Cholesterol - The good Stuff

AllegraWilliams

Hey to you health guru's out there:

My good cholesterol is too low... they said they want it over 51, and I'm at 41. (I'm not sure if this is mg/DL, I'm just guessing at the units.)

I already supplement with two fish oil soft gels a day... should I take more?? How else can I raise my HDL?? Thanks!

hockeymom95

You raise your good cholesterol (HDL) by exercise. The fish oil will help lower you LDL (bad cholesterol,) it won't help you increase your good cholesterol.

kouzzzz

Eat healthy by including lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean sources of protein in your diet. Also be sure to include monounsaturated fats in your diet. These are fats that are beneficial to your heart and include the fats found in seafood, and certain nuts, such as walnuts or almonds. Other examples of foods high in monounsaturated fats include vegetable oils such as olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil and sesame oil. Other sources include avocados, peanut butter, and many nuts and seeds. Be sure to avoid saturated fats and trans-fats, since these fats not only lower HDL, but can also raise LDL levels.

Moderate Exercise
Niacin supplement
Lose weight

nsblue

my doc told me... exercise.... ground flax.... red wine.... dark chocolate (70-80% cocoa)

AdAstra47

First of all, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Cholesterol levels can vary widely depending on genetics, and you can have a higher than "normal" rate and still be perfectly healthy. People in Okinawa Japan are among the healthiest in the world and have a very low rate of heart disease, yet when tested, their cholesterol levels always register as "high" according to the official charts. If you are otherwise healthy, don't let the pharmaceutical companies get you all worried & worked up about a number on a scale.

Contrary to popular belief, eating fat does not cause you to be fat, any more than eating chocolate causes your body to be chocolate. We're a little more complex than that. :happy: Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about your cholesterol, that's still a science that is in its infancy. The pharma companies, of course, that make billions off of drugs like lipitor, want you to panic about it. But there are a lot of independent studies out there that contradict the conventional wisdom.

Cholesterol's job in your body is to help with inflammation. When early researchers looked at people with heart disease & saw a lot of cholesterol, they concluded that cholesterol caused the heart disease. But current research indicates that cholesterol is a symptom of the body trying to repair itself; it's not the cause. The cause of heart disease is inflammation, and the jury's still out about what causes inflammation. Sadly, there hasn't been a lot of research because everyone is already convinced that cholesterol is the culprit! But I've seen some pretty convincing studies that indicate it's excess carbohydrates that are a big contributor to inflammation.

The fish oil is a good start. Even the pharma companies have acknowledged that Omega 3 & 6 (make sure your supplement has both) are very beneficial.

The cells in your body need a certain amount of fat (and, yes, cholesterol) in order to stay healthy. Your nutrient ratios should have you eating at least 30% fat in order to maintain the health of your cells. When I began doing this, along with eating more protein and limiting my carbs, my overall cholesterol went down and my good cholesterol went up. Also, side benefit, my skin & nails & hair all became much more healthy and younger-looking. Try adjusting your nutrient ratios, right now you're eating over 200 carbs a day, try bringing that down to 150 & bringing up the fat & protein & see what happens.

For more info, you might check out
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/science/a/lowcarbcholest.htm
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/cholesterol/

Good luck!

neanderthin

While I agree with AdAstra's basic argument that total cholesterol really doesn't mean much, I disagree that you shouldn't worry about it. The relationship between HDL/LDL is very important and that you should attempt to increase your HDL. 60mg/dl should be a low target.

Many things effect HDL levels and it appears in NA it's very much associated with lifestyle and diet. A sedentary lifestyle, being overweight, smoking, excessive alcohol, a highly refined carb diet will drop HDL like a stone. So basically losing weight, exercising and replacing refined carbs, which are mostly omega 6's, which increases inflammation with more green and colorful veg will bring your omega ratio more in line, while increasing HDL, This intervention will also effect the particle size of the lipoproteins of cholestrol as well, which really is what it's all about, as well as reducing trigs in the blood. There's a lot more to it and I can go into more depth if you like.

servilia

First of all, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Cholesterol levels can vary widely depending on genetics, and you can have a higher than "normal" rate and still be perfectly healthy. People in Okinawa Japan are among the healthiest in the world and have a very low rate of heart disease, yet when tested, their cholesterol levels always register as "high" according to the official charts. If you are otherwise healthy, don't let the pharmaceutical companies get you all worried & worked up about a number on a scale.

Contrary to popular belief, eating fat does not cause you to be fat, any more than eating chocolate causes your body to be chocolate. We're a little more complex than that. :happy: Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about your cholesterol, that's still a science that is in its infancy. The pharma companies, of course, that make billions off of drugs like lipitor, want you to panic about it. But there are a lot of independent studies out there that contradict the conventional wisdom.

Cholesterol's job in your body is to help with inflammation. When early researchers looked at people with heart disease & saw a lot of cholesterol, they concluded that cholesterol caused the heart disease. But current research indicates that cholesterol is a symptom of the body trying to repair itself; it's not the cause. The cause of heart disease is inflammation, and the jury's still out about what causes inflammation. Sadly, there hasn't been a lot of research because everyone is already convinced that cholesterol is the culprit! But I've seen some pretty convincing studies that indicate it's excess carbohydrates that are a big contributor to inflammation.

The fish oil is a good start. Even the pharma companies have acknowledged that Omega 3 & 6 (make sure your supplement has both) are very beneficial.

The cells in your body need a certain amount of fat (and, yes, cholesterol) in order to stay healthy. Your nutrient ratios should have you eating at least 30% fat in order to maintain the health of your cells. When I began doing this, along with eating more protein and limiting my carbs, my overall cholesterol went down and my good cholesterol went up. Also, side benefit, my skin & nails & hair all became much more healthy and younger-looking. Try adjusting your nutrient ratios, right now you're eating over 200 carbs a day, try bringing that down to 150 & bringing up the fat & protein & see what happens.

For more info, you might check out
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/science/a/lowcarbcholest.htm
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/cholesterol/

Good luck!

This.