My HDL (good) Cholesterol is very low-Please help

berenice79

I just found out that my HDL cholesterol which is the good one is very low at 44 mg/dl and the normal is greater than 50mg and my bad cholesterol is at 75 mg which is higher than my good one. I been eating better for the last two week but I guess I'm not eating the right foods. Can anyone give me an advice how to increase my good cholesterol?

visiri

Olive oil and red wine are my secrets.

MrsMaas09

If you like Cherios....they say those are good for that!

kyunda

Yea me too, well went I went for my last check up in June. Hdl was 35 ugh.

berenice79

Thank you everyone...

MinnieInMaine

Talk to your doctor about it - not a great idea to get medical advice from a bunch of strangers on the internet...

jyow01

My husband had this problem the doctor told him to eat more tuna, almonds, also he takes a daily cod liver oil pill helps with cholesterol and arthritis. It also helps his blood pressure stay in check.

Roni_M

Same for me... Ratio is off with the good stuff too low and the bad stuff at the higher end of normal. My doctor said exercise and eating better would fix it. Won't know if he's right until he does the tests again (which I think will be at the 6 month mark). I'm 3 months in and down 40lbs so I'm hoping it works!!

sloew

ground flax seed and chia seeds.. 1-2TBS a day! Worked for my mom in a very short time!! I hope you figure something out!

lizard053

Fiber, Omega-3 fatty acids and niacin. Fiber helps overall, don't forget water with it! Omega-3's are shown to help HDL. And niacin (a B-vitamin) helps keep your LDL down.

*Edit - I wanted to include, I have a very high HDL. Last check was 85, time before that was 97! My LDL is a bit higher, but my ratio is near 1!

fittocycle

Are you working out? I honestly think exercise is the best way to raise HDL. Try to work out at an intense level a couple days a week and do weight training a couple days a week. It can't hurt and your body will be happy too!

bllowry

Have your doctor check you out; you could have a medical predisposition towards a low HDL. That said, exercise and eating foods high in Omega 3 will help.

fiberartist219

Are you working out? I honestly think exercise is the best way to raise HDL. Try to work out at an intense level a couple days a week and do weight training a couple days a week. It can't hurt and your body will be happy too!

This is what I was told too

LabRat529

I just found out that my HDL cholesterol which is the good one is very low at 44 mg/dl and the normal is greater than 50mg and my bad cholesterol is at 75 mg which is higher than my good one. I been eating better for the last two week but I guess I'm not eating the right foods. Can anyone give me an advice how to increase my good cholesterol?

That's not actually "very low". It's low... but no need to panic. And 75 isn't bad either. Your numbers are reasonably good. Did your doctor express concern? My HDL is a little lower than yours and my LDL is higher. My doctor said "wow, your numbers look really good" (I think she was expecting worse 'cause I'm obese).

Anyway.... no need to stress about it.

BUT the suggestions here are great. Omega-3s are a good way to go.

cressievargo

Some good advice on here, just wanted to add good luck.

Wade406

Are you working out? I honestly think exercise is the best way to raise HDL. Try to work out at an intense level a couple days a week and do weight training a couple days a week. It can't hurt and your body will be happy too!

This is the answer! Aerobic exercise is the single greatest way to raise HDL and as a side benefit possibly lower LDL.

I searched HDL and found this topic. I'm interested because I received the results of a blood test done recently.
I log all my tests, because I'm interested in seeing the correlation between results and different causal factors.

I began logging the numbers in 2002, and have 8 tests across 12 years. My total cholesterol ranges between 147 and 181. My HDL has been between 41 and 63. My latest test was the best. CholTotal 164, Trig 74, Glu 81, HDL 63, LDL 86.

I am not at my peak fitness right now. I peaked in early October, and hit my low since then in early March, where I've been increasing my training to hopefully hit a new peak in September time frame. My high VO2max (mVO2) was 50, and my low in March was 42. My resting HR at peak was 38, and my resting in March was 52. I am going to have my fitness tested in a Ergospirometry laboratory in September.

Regarding bloodwork results, here's a few interesting things:
My tests usually happen in the spring. Nearly every spring result except the last one was in the in the 40's.
The exceptions were 2004 with an HDL of 50, and 2012 at 63. In 2004 I was training hard, but probably only got started. This year, I've had about 14 months of consistent training, producing my best result.
The 2008 test was in October and my HDL was 61. Since I am most active during the summer, and my health coach has guaranteed to me the biggest driver of the higher number is aerobic exercise, it stands to reason that an October result would be higher. In June 2009 I had an HDL of 50. This was during my divorce, and I was dealing with much of the turmoil and stress with exercise.

A really interesting fitness related metric is your HDL %. This is the ratio of HDL/total Chol. Is desirable to have this value greater than 28%. In 2002 mine was 42/147 (28%). Now in 2012 when I am in my 50's instead of my early 40's, my ratio is 63/164 (38%). This is the direct result of my training regimen. My diet and weight has not changed significantly between now and then.