Kathleen Theisen wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>
> Does anyone know if it's possible to raise an HDL level?  I have a
> friend, 41 year old male, who is in perfect health (155 lbs, 5'10"
> tall, does yoga daily) with great blood test results. He eats very
> healthy and his total cholesterol is 170, but HDl is only 32.  His
> doctor said he should take lipitor to change the ratio of LDL to HDL,
> but told him there's no way to raise HDL.   I am a 90% paleo eater, so
> I don't agree with that theory.  there must be a way.  He has been told
> that HDL is totally genetic (and his father died of a heart attack at
> age 51).  Any thoughts?
>
> Kathleen

It is quite possible to raise HDL. Among the things that studies have
shown to do this:

1. Don't smoke.
2. regular aerobic exercise
3. Monounsaturated fats like olive oil will raise HDL while lowering
total cholesterol.
4. Medium chain saturated fats like coconut oil will raise both HDL and
total cholesterol.
5. n-3 oils will lower total cholesterol (expecially the VLDL which is
the worst one) with a negligible effect on HDL.
6. Avoid vegetable oils and partially hydrogenated oils (Likely to
contain trans-fats that raise LDL and lower HDL simultaneously.)
7. An occasional beer or glass of wine (Seriously:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11437094&dopt=Abstract)