HDL Cholesterol 131?

You want HDL to be high...its LDL you don't want to be high.

If you are taking omega-3 supplements, exercising regularly and getting enough fiber in your diet, among other things, your HDL level should increase.

Thats uncharacteristically high and thats GOOD! Exercise and heart healthy fats plus a good diet get it that way. Good job! LDL is the bad one and you're isn't high so nothing to worry about. Total cholesterol number is nothing to fear (even if high) as long as the LDL and triglycerides are in range.

HDL cholesterol is the healthy cholesterol. Could be high from taking Omega 3's, lots of exercise & alcohol also raises HDL. For most people you want this to be at least 50 or higher in general. Are you sure it was not your LDL's?

My doctor flagged that as a problem on my recent routine blood work panel for some reason... Just curious.

Ask the doctor about it then. No one on here is really qualified to give you medical advice.

You are truly BLESSED to have an HDL level that high. It's the TOTAL CHOLESTEROL of 200 that you need to bring down. Keeping the total that high increases your risk for blockage in your coronary (heart) arteries.

SUGGESTION: Make an appointment with your physician and BRING: a print out of your daily food diary from the previous 14 days.

In preventative medical care, we can CHANGE the LIFESTYLE BEHAVIORS that we can CHOOSE to CHANGE:

--- smoking: IF you are using any tobacco products, you are loading your coronary arteries with a lot of plaque and other chemical compounds as a result of that behavior. You are also hardening all the blood vessels in your entire body. When they are less elastic/flexible, it increases the blood pressure and increases the risk of a major stroke (can be paralytic with/without loss of speech ability).

--- exercise: If you are sedentary (not exercising at all), you would be wise to consider physical activity that will get your heart rate up to TARGET RATE (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/moser9.htm) and keep it at that level for a minimum of 20 minutes (plus ADD 10 minutes warmup period and 10 minutes cool down) for a total time of 40 minutes. Minimum times per week 3-4. Five times per week is best.

--- nutrition: Select foods that are LOW in fat (watch out for HIDDEN FATS). When you do the grocery shopping, start reading ALL the labels of things you usually buy. It will take you longer to shop when you first start reading the labels but you will soon learn what it best and what to avoid.

--- cooking/preparing meals: AVOID frying anything in the frying pan and NEVER the deep fryer. Those great donuts, the buffalo wings, the french fries, those juicy jumbo loaded-with-everything-cheeseburgers, milkshakes, etc. and gunking up all the insides of your coronary arteries. How many heart attacks and/or strokes will it take for any of us to learn proper, accurate, PORTION CONTROL before our heart tells us "I quit". Yes, you guessed it~~~I was that person of whom I speak (all except for the smoking part). That was 11+ months ago.

Today: the fat pounds are gone, the BMI is down from 31 to 20.9. Accurately weighing, measuring, leveling off all excess quantities and recording a daily food journal for every single item that goes in my mouth is my new lifestyle. If I'm not doing a Power Walk DVD, I'm doing resistance band workouts. If I'm not doing those activities, I'm out on my new built-to-order AMERICAN MADE folding port-a-trike (built by Worksman Cycles in New York). If I just need a couple of items at the supermarket (3.0 mile round trip), I head to the Safeway market on foot with my crossbody shoulder bag and a tote bag for the groceries. Dancing, preferably to fast Latin music is my absolutely favorite exercise (I'm still looking for a new dance partner who can also follow the "beat" of the music).

When all else has been done and you have changed all that you can choose to change, if the cholesterol levels are still high, then you may need to discuss medication choices with your primary physician to bring it down and keep it low. By the way, I'm a former coronary care nurse (was a registered nurse with 20+ years of clinical practice & I also earned two Masters degrees in education)

My doctor flagged that as a problem on my recent routine blood work panel for some reason... Just curious.

Ask the doctor about it then. No one on here is really qualified to give you medical advice.

I am not an idiot. I question my doctor and I will research further. But thank you for your concern.

I didn't accuse you of being one. Calm down.

IContrary to popular opinion, dietary intake of cholesterol does affect blood cholesterol levels in many (if not most) individuals. If you want to experiment without taking drugs, you could try reducing your dietary cholesterol intake.

Though I think it's prudent for those with high cholesterol to follow doctor's recommendations to decrease dietary cholesterol to see if their bodies will respond positively, I'd like to see a source for your assertion here.

It's not popular "opinion" but rather scientifically proven at this point: for MOST people, dietary cholesterol has little if any effect on serum cholesterol, and it's the mix of fats consumed that influences cholesterol in the bloodstream:

Kratz M. Dietary cholesterol, atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. Handb Exp Pharmacol 2005:195-213.
Fernandez ML. Dietary cholesterol provided by eggs and plasma lipoproteins in healthy populations. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2006; 9:8-12.

IContrary to popular opinion, dietary intake of cholesterol does affect blood cholesterol levels in many (if not most) individuals. If you want to experiment without taking drugs, you could try reducing your dietary cholesterol intake.

Though I think it's prudent for those with high cholesterol to follow doctor's recommendations to decrease dietary cholesterol to see if their bodies will respond positively, I'd like to see a source for your assertion here.

It's not popular "opinion" but rather scientifically proven at this point: for MOST people, dietary cholesterol has little if any effect on serum cholesterol, and it's the mix of fats consumed that influences cholesterol in the bloodstream:

Kratz M. Dietary cholesterol, atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. Handb Exp Pharmacol 2005:195-213.
Fernandez ML. Dietary cholesterol provided by eggs and plasma lipoproteins in healthy populations. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2006; 9:8-12.

If you insist, here are some studies that show a correlation between dietary cholesterol intake and serum cholesterol levels:

http://www.bmj.com/content/314/7074/112.abstract

http://www.ajcn.org/content/69/4/632.short

http://www.ajcn.org/content/25/6/589.full.pdf+html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC370171/

Anecdotally, I have personally witnessed many individuals, who have eliminated animal products (the only products containing dietary cholesterol) from their diet, significantly lower their cholesterol levels, my husband and myself included. Dr. Esselstyn has worked with hundreds of patients over a period of decades, and helped them reduce their cholesterol levels significantly (below 150) by changing their diets to a whole food, plant-based approach. He does admit that in some cases (not most), the patients do need to take statin medications to get below that 150 level.

(edited to include the word "statin")

Thanks for all of your input. I will not allow them to put me on any medication. It appears to run in the family, and my diet is pretty clean with the exception of salt. I just love it. I don't even know how to or own the equipment to deep fry anything. Very few and far between with the fatty meats and sugar. Lots of greens, and I supplement the essential fatty acids. I will inquire further with the doc next week.

You are doing awesome! I am sure everything is fine. I haven't heard of a situation like yours. I also struggle with the salt. I never cook with it and I try and buy either whole foods or low sodium canned stuff. That way, most of the salt I consume is what I use at the dinner table after I have attempted to use other seasonings.

I don't think you're a bad patient for asking questions, but asking random people on the internet who have no idea about your medical history or family history even if they are medical professionals doesn't seem like a good way to educate yourself about your specific case. If you aren't happy with your doctor, go get a second or third opinion from someone else who knows your personal information.

I don't understand these kind of responses. If you don't know or don't have an opinion, then you don't have to answer. Isn't this the point of a forum? Share ideas and experiences. I read a lot of different forums and although a lot of people are not expert in their field, they've given me clues and ideas that help me lead to answer to my questions. I can easily reply to a lot of posts by saying "Go to a nutritionists. Go ask a dietitian. Go see a specialist."