Increasing HDL

[jamnkats]

I recently had my cholesterol tested and while the bad stuff was 159 (low) the good stuff (HDL, right?) was 38. Should be 40-60 and even better above 60. According to the lab I used (down here you just show up at a lab, get the test, pick up the results and you're done - usually all the same day) those are the numbers. Dr. Google pretty much agrees.

 

I've been "dieting" (watching caloric intake, serving sizes and just eating healthy foods) and exercising (60-70 minutes a day, 6-7 days a week) since May and have lost 11 kilos. I eat oatmeal almost each and every morning for breakfast. I don't eat transfats as very little to none of our food is processed. So I'm not sure how to bring my HDL up. Continue the exercise and losing weight, obviously, and maybe once I've lost another 10 kilos (that is about my goal) it will naturally increase. I've also read that red medicine (wine) nightly can help so I've (TWIST MY ARM!! :)) started doing that. Any other ideas? I'm happy with the bad cholesterol number but really need to increase the good cholesterol. I also read about fish oil capsules and have added one a day. I'll test again in a month or so and see if I've made any strides towards increasing the HDL - does anyone have other ideas?

[susie in tx]

Fish oil.

 

Take more than one capsule. What kind are you using? My HDL is beautiful, probably due to the fish oil. You also need other fats in your diet. What kind of other fats do you eat?

[Jenn in Mo]

Dh is dealing with this as well. How about your triglycerides? The reason for greater concern with dh's low HDL was that it was paired with high triglycerides.

 

Good fats are very important. Commonly, people avoid fats in an effort to "eat healthier". Some fats are quite healthy. Coconut oil, Fish Oil, and Flax are all great additions. Avocados and fish are great foods to add to the diet. Anything with trans-fat is a big bad no-no. Shortening and partially hydrogenated anything are taboo. You need to examine the ingredients list for this. MANY packages say "No Trans-Fat per serving"....with the "per serving" in much smaller font. It has to be a full gram (I think I'm remembering this # correctly) to qualify on the RDA list. But if there is .25 g in each serving then it's okay to just say zero. Well, over the course of a few days, you might eat 5 servings and you are still getting trans fat. Any trans fat is considered unsafe.

 

Corn syrup is another food on dh's avoid list. We don't have his new numbers yet (a couple more weeks) but dh has gone from 196 to 184 lbs in 2 weeks by taking fish oil (sporadically unfortunately) and avoiding all soda and trans fats. We also upped his veggies and switched from eating mostly whole grains to eating ONLY whole grains.

 

Two weeks ago, he barely drank any soda and I never used trans fats in any of our food at home. But he did grab stuff at work from the snack machine and drank a soda while out and about maybe twice a week. I think just paying closer attention and seeing actual hard numbers made him much more conscientious about his eating habits. He's actually eating MORE now....he was skipping meals all the time before.

[jamnkats]

Fish oil.

 

Take more than one capsule. What kind are you using? My HDL is beautiful, probably due to the fish oil. You also need other fats in your diet. What kind of other fats do you eat?

 

Um, purposely, no other fats other than olive oil. No butter, sometimes peanut butter. I've read I should start with avocados too and continue the peanut butter. Not sure how that will go with the losing weight though...The brand in Nature Made (the ONLY capsules I've ever seen anywhere here) from Costco. We actually bought these in Merida, Yucatan state, as I haven't seen them anywhere in Quintana Roo.

 

Dh is dealing with this as well. How about your triglycerides? The reason for greater concern with dh's low HDL was that it was paired with high triglycerides.

 

Good fats are very important. Commonly, people avoid fats in an effort to "eat healthier". Some fats are quite healthy. Coconut oil, Fish Oil, and Flax are all great additions. Avocados and fish are great foods to add to the diet. Anything with trans-fat is a big bad no-no.

 

Very little, if any, of our diet is processed - even beans are not from a can - so I don't worry about the corn syrup or fat issues - and here in Mexico, corn syrup is still pretty rare. I can start eating coconuts (the kids love to harvest and machete them down) but even though we're on the Caribbean, fish is not local so it will have to be capsules. I'll look into flax also.

[susie in tx]

Um, purposely, no other fats other than olive oil. No butter, sometimes peanut butter. I've read I should start with avocados too and continue the peanut butter. Not sure how that will go with the losing weight though...

 

I would eat other nuts, other than peanuts. 5 or 6 a day won't hurt the weight loss. But really, you aren't eating enough fats. Good fats are essential.

 

The brand in Nature Made (the ONLY capsules I've ever seen anywhere here) from Costco. We actually bought these in Merida, Yucatan state, as I haven't seen them anywhere in Quintana Roo.

 

You need quite a few fish oil capsules in order to help your levels.

 

Here is my nutritionist's website on fats.

http://krispin.com/omega3.html

 

 

Generally, I would stick with fish oil, as long as you can get it. Adding avocados isn't a bad idea either. Plus, they are yummy.