Need to raise my good cholesterol levels - how?

angeldaisy

Hi, I'm a first time poster here so hope you will be able to help me.

I was at my drs a week ago because I am exhausted all the time, I'm overweight at the moment which isn't helping, I'm 5ft 7 and weigh 14st. Anyway the blood tests show that my cholesterol is 4.7 which isn't too bad, but my good cholesterol is only 0.9 and he wants me to try to raise it. I have a family history of heart problems and my dr has given me 3mths to sort it out or he is going to start me on statins.

I'll be the first to admit that I eat a lot, I have a big appetite but I usually steer towards healthier foods, just too much of them:o

At the moment this is roughly what I am eating

B/fast - muesli, grapes s/skimmed milk & coffee
Lunch - 2-3 ryvita cottage cheese & scraping of hummous
Dinner - Chicken stirfry or salad with new potatoes & fish
Snacks - 3 rice crackers, scraping of peanut butter, 1 banana & handful of strawberries.
As a treat I might have a small choc ice or a square of dark chocolate.

Any advice / suggestions?

El_Dangeroso

Fat raises HDL like nothing else, in particular saturated (lauric acid) and mono-unsaturated fat. But only if from natural sources, think good quality meat, good quality pastured butter and virgin coconut and olive oil. Coconut oil and butter are especially rich in lauric acid.

You don't have to eat mega amounts, just add in a little here and there.

Other things that raise HDL:

Exercise
Fish or fish oil (always take with a meal containing fat to maximise absorption)
Fruit and vegetables (soluble fibre)
Some say cranberry juice, but I don't know if that's been verified.

Things that lower HDL:

Smoking
Trans-fats
Chronic Stress (Though it's not established whether low HDL causes a susceptibility to stress or whether stress causes low HDL - no harm to relax a bit more in any case )

El_Dangeroso

On further research it turns out that alcohol raises HDL too, good news for the heart, probably not for the liver though

angeldaisy

thanks for the advice Temple_Grandin. it makes a lot of sense, I don't drink enough to make a difference but I have been under a lot of stress the last 3 years or so. Guess I need to work on that, I don't eat many foods with trans-fats, so I guess that its not too difficult to avoid. I think the one big thing I need to work on is exercise.

thanks again for the advice

Transform

Temple_Grandin wrote: »

Fat raises HDL like nothing else, in particular saturated (lauric acid) and mono-unsaturated fat. But only if from natural sources, think good quality meat, good quality pastured butter and virgin coconut and olive oil. Coconut oil and butter are especially rich in lauric acid.

You don't have to eat mega amounts, just add in a little here and there.

Other things that raise HDL:

Exercise
Fish or fish oil (always take with a meal containing fat to maximise absorption)
Fruit and vegetables (soluble fibre)
Some say cranberry juice, but I don't know if that's been verified.

Things that lower HDL:

Smoking
Trans-fats
Chronic Stress (Though it's not established whether low HDL causes a susceptibility to stress or whether stress causes low HDL - no harm to relax a bit more in any case )

what she said +1

Sigi

In addition to the above,make a point to increase your omega3:omega6 ratio.Easiest way to do this is to cut out grains for the most part.