HDL for Dummies

25. May 2008 William Davis (10)
I frequently peruse conventional health websites to keep track of their message. One painfully conventional (read "drug company-supported") website that echoes the standard advice on heart disease and heart health is Everyday Health .

Since I subscribe to the newsletters for many conventional sites, I received an e-mail that took me to this Q & A about HDL cholesterol:

Q: I'm 36 years old and my good cholesterol is too low. What can I do?
– Nilsa, Florida

Dr. Lori Mosca of New York-Presbyterian Hospital responds:

A: A woman's HDL goal should be greater than 50 mg/dL (greater than 40 mg/dL in men). You can raise your HDL levels by eating a diet low in saturated fat and trans fat but high in monounsaturated fats. Lose weight if you need to and get at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise on a minimum of four days per week. If you smoke, quit. Despite positive lifestyle changes, though, some individuals may still be candidates for HDL-raising drug therapy because they are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Discuss your options with your health care provider.


Are you satisified with that answer? I certainly am not.

First of all, is this something you've never heard before? "Eat right, exercise, cut your unhealthy fats." Then why do people who follow this sort of conventional advice often still fail? Is the next step always medication?

Here's the part that Dr. Mosca and other conventional, drug-minded "authorities" have left out:

To raise HDL powerfully--not to 40 mg/dl for males or 50 mg/dl for females, but to 60, 70 or 80 mg/dl--think about the following strategies:

--Eliminate wheat and cornstarch products. I have droned on endlessly about this concept, but it is enormously effective. While the weight loss that inevitably follows elimination of these foods adds to the HDL-raising effect, there is also an independent effect, as well.

--Fish oil--The omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil reduce triglycerides. Triglycerides accelerate the destruction of HDL. Remove triglycerides, HDL goes up. (Though krill oil may share, even surpass this effect, we need more data than the single manufacturer-sponsored study.) Of course, this requires real doses, not the namby-pamby doses you often read about.

--Vitamin D--Achieving normal levels of 25(OH) vitamin D raises HDL with power I have never witnessed from any other strategy before, barring weight loss of 30+ lbs. Readers of the Heart Scan Blog know that just taking vitamin D is not enough. Verification with blood levels is an absolute necessity, particularly if raising HDL maximally is among your goals.

--Adding back saturated fat. I say "adding back" since most of us (including myself) went too far down the "saturated fat is bad" path over the past few years. While I do not advocate a carte blanche approach to saturated fat, I believe that adding back eggs (preferably free-range and/or omega-3 rich), lean meats, and hard cheeses is a good idea. The saturated fat in these foods raise HDL 5 or more mg/dl.

--Dark chocolate--Or other cocoa prepartions. What a cool way to raise HDL! Reach for the lowest-sugar, highest cocoa preparations.

--Alcoholic beverages--I am partial to the red wine/flavonoid-rich concept, being a wine drinker. Although all alcoholic beverages raise HDL due to the ethanol content, for benefits beyond alcohol (as well as to avoid wheat-based drinks like beer), I do believe that the bulk of data argue for flavonoid-rich red wines from southern France, Italy, and California.

--Achieve ideal weight--The toughest of all. But eliminating wheat and cornstarch makes it far easier.


Follow the conventional advice of those like Dr. Lori Mosca, and the majority of people will fail. ("It just so happens that I have a prescription drug just for that purpose!")

Buck the conventional advice, adopt strategies that won't be found in the drug ads, nor be provided by the conventionally-thinking, and you can succeed to heights you never thought possible.


Copyright 2008 William Davis, MD
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Comments (10) -

  • Ross

    5/25/2008 3:55:00 PM |

    I'm very excited to read what sounds like a possible change in your position on saturated fat (agreed: it's only one of a list of many other beneficial dietary practices, and I shouldn't focus too much on that one).  

    My own substantial weight loss, achieved by substituting fat (and saturated fat) for carbs while keeping protein intake moderate, has been such a revelation to me.  It's been quite difficult to believe that what we've been told by dietary authorities is not only incorrect, but is most likely exactly backwards.  Fat has not made me fat.  Fat has and continues to make me full.  Being full got me to a BMI of 23.  Becoming slender again has restored my athletic performance as well as improving the blood markers that most of your readers track.

    Taken as a whole, this list of dietary advice might possibly be summed up as, "Enjoy good eating in moderation."  IMHO, at the end of the day, a balanced approach is an essential part of any sustainable lifestyle.

  • Anonymous

    5/26/2008 12:58:00 AM |

    I have had what I consider great results with raising my HDL from 312 a few years ago following my physician's AHA recommendations to 51 now by doing most of the things you suggest in this blog (I am male).  My question is,  how good is this as a heart health indicator?  Even though your book suggests that only a scan will tell, I am nervous about X-rays and the cost of a scan.  Can I take some solace in my dramatically increased HDL?

  • Alan

    5/26/2008 3:15:00 AM |

    I almost totally agree.

    The only minor disagreement is that I would extend "wheat products" to include the other grains and starchy carbs. I am very cautious about all of that group.

    My major disagreement is the omission of Australia from your list of excellent dry red wine producersSmile

    Cheers, Alan, T2 Diabetic, Australia

  • Dr. William Davis

    5/26/2008 1:31:00 PM |

    Anonymous re: HDL--

    No, sorry, absolutely not. It is an indicator, not the real thing, meaning plaque.

  • Gyan

    5/27/2008 6:51:00 AM |

    If you advise eating saturated fats, then why specify "lean meats"?.

  • Anonymous

    5/27/2008 5:56:00 PM |

    What percentage of your patients don't respond to the HDL boosting therapy you advise?

    I raised my vit D level to 56, dropped wheat, increased exercise, took niaspan (albeit at only 500mg), took 3 grams omega-3/daily, took a wine extract supplement, ate  a small amount dark chocolate daily....

    And my HDL went down 1 point. My weight isn't an  issue, I think, as I'm 6'1"", about 175 lbs. My body fat is approx. 15% (not sure if that's good or not). I eventually had to drop the niaspan, as I was getting heart palpitations, but it didn't seem to be doing much for my HDL anyway.

    What is recommended for patients when their HDL won't seem to budge? And a better question... why isn't it raising on the therapies you recommend, when it does work for most patients? Are there any rare causes for low HDL, outside of genetically low HDL?

  • Anonymous

    5/31/2008 9:37:00 PM |

    I can echo the last post. I have tried all of Dr. Davis' strategies, plus others, and it's resulted in slight reductions in my already low ldl and triglycerides but no change in my low hdl. I'm in great shape, eat well, exercise regularly, no heart issues or risk factors besides the low hdl, which I assume in my case is genetic.

  • Anonymous

    9/13/2009 4:03:11 PM |

    I didn't know where else to post this question.  Is this true?

    "Another way to know if abundant HDL is valuable is to look at its particle size -- smaller is better. A large study has found that people with high HDL (above 70 mg/dL) but very large particles had more risk of heart disease than people with low HDL (under 40), probably because larger particles aren't as active. But again, there's no easy commercial test for that."  This quote appeared today at http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2009/09/you_docs_answering_questions_a_2.html.  Mehmet Oz is usually suspect to me, anyway, but I am still curious about this statement.

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    11/2/2010 8:24:16 PM |

    --Adding back saturated fat. I say "adding back" since most of us (including myself) went too far down the "saturated fat is bad" path over the past few years. While I do not advocate a carte blanche approach to saturated fat, I believe that adding back eggs (preferably free-range and/or omega-3 rich), lean meats, and hard cheeses is a good idea. The saturated fat in these foods raise HDL 5 or more mg/dl.

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    3/30/2011 6:46:57 AM |

    Cool Post !!!!!


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Another interview with Livin' La Vida Low Carb's Jimmy Moore

Another interview with Livin' La Vida Low Carb's Jimmy Moore

7. January 2009 William Davis (4)
I recently provided another interview for Livin' La Vida Low Carb's Jimmy Moore.

You may remember Jimmy as the irrepressible host of the Livin' La Vida Low Carb Show who lost around 200 lbs, dropping from 410 to 230 lbs on a low-carbohydrate diet.

In this hour-long interview, we discussed some of the dietary strategies that we use in the Track Your Plaque program.

Jimmy's website is definitely worth exploring. It's loaded with great interviews, including with Good Calories, Bad Calories author, Gary Taubes.
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  • mike V

    1/7/2009 8:38:00 PM |

    Dr Davis:
    I enjoyed hearing your voice interviewing with Jimmie, and of course, I am quite familiar with your blog photograph. To complete the picture, would you be willing to tell us a little about your own personal experience with TYP over time?


    In my opinion, yours is the most compelling health care message currently available in the USA. Particularly your observation that the excesses going on in drugs and health care bear quite startling similarities to those that have developed on Wall Street during the last thirty years.

    Now, what's to be done?
    The nation needs you Sir!
    When has there been a more important time for you and like minded physicians to come to the fore?
    There is another prominent bi-racial person who could really use someone like you to coordinate  support and guidance from the profession with his health reform planning.
    I do not believe you are alone. Would you please seriously consider developing a video to articulate some of the great health business changes needed to avoid another Wall Street?
    I agree it seems like an impossible task until you contemplate what Barak O'Bama is up against!
    Dr D., I confess I started this thought in a rather frivolous frame of mind, but the more I think about it the better it sounds! Would you consider Surgeon General?
    Best Wishes for a happy and productive 2009.

    MikeV
    (PS: Maybe Oprah would help with the video?)

  • Anonymous

    1/8/2009 5:38:00 AM |

    Looking forward to reading it. I am also trying to spread your blog over at Lowcarbfriends.com...

    Thanks Dr. D

  • steve

    1/8/2009 2:55:00 PM |

    any thoughts on the Quest vitamin D issue of inaccurate measurement?

  • Steve L.

    1/11/2009 5:05:00 AM |

    I thoroughly enjoyed the interview, on my mp3 player while grocery shopping, driving, etc.  Thank you for doing the interview.  Together with the other "top 5" interviewees that Jimmy posted, it was really a blockbuster week.

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