"Good" or HDL Cholesterol

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IALUCKYSGIRL
IALUCKYSGIRL Posts: 6 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I recently had my biometric screening for my insurance at work. My "Bad" Cholesterol is great but my "Good" cholesterol is very low. Anyone else have this problem? What have you done to improve your good cholesterol?

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  • ignatiusreilly
    ignatiusreilly Posts: 411 Member
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    It's tough to do for some people -- I think it has a lot to do with your genes. As far as what is in your control, I've been told: lose weight, exercise and eath foods rich in Omega 3s.
  • cherryObebe
    cherryObebe Posts: 189
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    It's tough to do for some people -- I think it has a lot to do with your genes. As far as what is in your control, I've been told: lose weight, exercise and eath foods rich in Omega 3s.

    ^This, plus add Omega 6s, monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats.
  • WifeMomDVM
    WifeMomDVM Posts: 1,025 Member
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    Regular exercise will raise your HDLs. Good luck!
  • deb_rn
    deb_rn Posts: 144 Member
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    I lowered my LDL by losing 25 pounds, exercising almost every day and watching my diet. My doctor told me that if you have "bad genes", sometimes there is nothing that you can do except take medication. I was happy to prove him wrong in my case!
  • kcunleashed
    kcunleashed Posts: 10 Member
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    Also, what is your "green" vegetable intake? That's a key ingredient from what I've been told. I always have the same problem when I get my blood taken, and get chastised for the low HDL figures.
  • auntiebabs
    auntiebabs Posts: 1,754 Member
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    "Happy Fats" and Exercise

    I track saturated fat and cholesterol.
    I don't worry so much about the overall fat as long as I'm get my fats from fish (omega-3) or olive oil, avocados and nuts.
    If it's fish or plant based your probably okay. I will spot check my overall fats once in a while see that I'm at about 25-30%.

    These will help reduce overall cholesterol.
    --Salmon
    --oatmeal, oat bran, cheerios,
    --mangoes,
    --red grapes, (red wine... alas, I am allergic)
    --olive oil,
    --walnuts

    Cut out the decaf and go back to real coffee.
    A biochemist friend of mine did a study for a major pharma company and found out while decaf coffee has no cholesterol in it it will elevate your LDLs. Regular coffee didn't do this.
  • chuckyp
    chuckyp Posts: 693 Member
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    Mine was low last year too. Since then I have exercised and lost weight and also took 500mg of niacin daily. This year it's up in the normal range. It went up by 16 mg/dl.
  • Hoppymom
    Hoppymom Posts: 1,158 Member
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    I recently had my biometric screening for my insurance at work. My "Bad" Cholesterol is great but my "Good" cholesterol is very low. Anyone else have this problem? What have you done to improve your good cholesterol?

    I just had the smae thing happen. My HDL has always been pretty good though slightly lower in Aug. It came back from the Bio testing place as the only one that was low. Conversely I had a bunch that were too high in Aug. came back from the Sept test as very good. Now I have been working on some nutritional changes, but really every thing is hunky -dory that fast? I am wondering about the accuracy of the testing. So now I am exercising to raise the HDL. Good luck figuring out what's going on.
  • cramernh
    cramernh Posts: 3,335 Member
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    Regular exercise will raise your HDLs. Good luck!

    YES!! This is very true! Exercise will raise your good cholesterol levels... its an indicator to the doctor who reads your labs, the ratios of each element in reading a total cholesterol...
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
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    Here's another question for you guys...

    Last year, my "good" cholesterol was so high that it made my total cholesterol high, even though my "bad" cholesterol was on the low side of normal...

    I only had it checked for work and insurance, not at a doctor's office, so I didn't have a medical professional tell me WTF that means to have too much good stuff throwing the total into "high." Off the top of your heads...lol...what would you say that means and how do I "fix" it if it's even bad?

    We'll just see what the test says this year...
  • IALUCKYSGIRL
    IALUCKYSGIRL Posts: 6 Member
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    NO WORRIES about the decaf coffee! :laugh: :drinker:
  • auntiebabs
    auntiebabs Posts: 1,754 Member
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    NO WORRIES about the decaf coffee! :laugh: :drinker:
    [/quote
    High-Octane all the way!
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    I recently had my biometric screening for my insurance at work. My "Bad" Cholesterol is great but my "Good" cholesterol is very low. Anyone else have this problem? What have you done to improve your good cholesterol?

    Aerobic exercise is one of the best ways. Fish oil (omega 3), monounsatured fat such as that in canola oil, olive oil, avacado and peanut butter. Moderate alcohol consumption has also been shown to raise it, but too much can have the opposite effect. Soluble fiber, the kind found in "sticky" grains such as oats and barley, beans and fruit can also raise it. Losing weight and quitting smoking have also been shown to raise it.

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