SparkPeople advertisers help keep the site free! Learn more
    SCARECROWISCOOL   43,110
SparkPoints 		40,000-49,999 SparkPoints
 
 
How to increase HDL??

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

I finally got back my blood & urine results from my life insurance physical... everything looks pretty good, but it seems like my Cholesterol (especially HDL) is pretty low. My total cholesterol is 147. HDL is 44. LDL is 88. Triglycerides is 74.

I've read that you need to be active & have a "normal" BMI in order to have a good HDL. I'm doing both of those things.... Is there anything else I can do?

There are approx 40 things that I was tested on, and I'm in the normal range for all of them. YAY! I'm finally normal!!! LOL emoticon
SHARE
  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

ECOMUFFIN 5/12/2010 1:03PM

    My doctor recommended I eat lots of "red" foods. Not red meat, but red grapes, watermelon, strawberries, etc.

Congrats on the great blood work! I only wish my cholesterol were so low!

Report Inappropriate Comment
SCARECROWISCOOL 5/12/2010 1:02PM

    Thanks for the advice so far!! I take fish oil supplements, but not as regularly as I should. I have been AVOIDING eggs because my food tracker gets mad at me for eating too much cholesterol. Maybe I should start eating eggs again??

I'm going to add more fish, nuts, seeds & olive oil per your suggestions! emoticon

Report Inappropriate Comment
ARCHIMEDESII 5/12/2010 9:50AM

    Not necessarily. When I weighed over 200 pounds, my HDL cholesterol was still very good i.e. above 50. In general, doctors would like to see a woman's HDL cholesterol over 50. Under 50 and you're at a possible risk for heart disease. But that really depends on a whole bunch of other factors.

If you are looking for a way to increase your HDL cholesterol, consider eating foods with more heart healthy fats such as olive oil, nuts, seeds and fatty fish like salmon. While my HDL cholesterol was good at 57, it went up with my last physical. Last check and it had gone up to 83. Yes, I'd lost weight. Yes, I exercise. but yes, I added more healthy fats to my diet.

I've read many studies that have shown that eating foods like olive oil can help raise a person's HDL cholesterol. So, if you don't eat nuts or salmon or olive oil, you might consider adding them to your daily intake.

Congratulations on having such good overall cholesterol !!

emoticon

-- karen

Report Inappropriate Comment
KAYOTIC 5/12/2010 9:42AM

    Omega 3 fatty acids I think. Flax seed, salmon are good sources...exercise helps too, but sounds like you have that covered!

Report Inappropriate Comment
LILPAT3 5/11/2010 4:07PM

    There are several foods that you can eat and fish oil is also good. Avocados are good for HDL, they have a lot of fat but it is good fat. You can look up HDL and find lots of information on foods that will raise it. I dropped my cholesterol and triglyceride level from the 200+'s to the levels you are at and I eat whole eggs and lots of veggies and my HDL goes up when I take fish oil. emoticon

Report Inappropriate Comment

Add Your Comment to the Blog Post


Log in to post a comment.
 


Other Entries by SCARECROWISCOOL