How I Boosted My HDL Cholesterol by 300%

Ever since I first had my blood tested for cholesterol content(which was at about age 25), I have always had depressingly low HDL cholesterol, which is also known as "good cholesterol". Recommended laboratory levels for HDL cholesterol are at least between 40 milligrams per deciliter for men and 50 milligrams per deciliter for women(these numbers might appear on your laboratory results written like "40 mg/dL").

I am now 42, and my HDL levels had always been between 11 and 15 mg/dL. My doctors always suggested exercise, which is supposed to raise your HDL, and there are numerous other remedies touted by health experts that I have tried over the years. These have included cooking with olive oil, eating more fish and fish oils, and other natural supplements touted as having the ability to raise HDL levels.

Despite copious exercise and the dietary changes mentioned above, my good cholesterol never budged. It is of concern to me because I have a strong family history of heart disease, and low HDL levels contribute to a poor cholesterol ratio. A cholesterol ratio is a calculation based upon your LDL and HDL cholesterol levels that is a very accurate indicator of heart disease risk. A good ratio can be maintained even if your LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, is a little on the high side if your HDL levels are very good.

I heard something on the radio back in September 2009 about the health benefits of almonds. Some studies had shown that a handful of almonds a day helped maintain a healthy weight and was shown to improve cholesterol levels. I decided to give them a try. At the same time, I began drinking coconut milk instead of dairy milk because of some information I read on the side of the coconut milk carton informing me that coconut milk was high in middle-chain fatty acids. (Note: This is not coconut milk from a can that is primarily used for cooking. This is a commercially prepared version of coconut milk flavored and constituted to be a dairy milk alternative.)

It was December 2009 when I next had my blood tested, and I was stunned at the results. My HDL was 42. That's almost three times higher than it has ever been. Now, before you run out and gorge yourself on almonds and coconut milk, let me add a few disclaimers.

First of all, almonds have been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol by about 9% if you're eating 73 grams of almonds a day. That's about 2/3 of a cup of almonds. I probably eat closer to 40-50 grams a day. Almonds have also been shown to improve HDL cholesterol by about 4% at the 73 gram per day level. Obviously, my HDL improvement was far beyond the clinical average attributed to almond intake.

So does that mean that majority of my HDL cholesterol level improvement was due to the coconut milk? That's what I believe, but there is little-to-no hard evidence suggesting that middle-chain fatty acids boost good cholesterol. That could simply be due to the fact that not many studies have been done to see if there is a link between these acids and HDL cholesterol. Thus, the dietary recommendation for an increase in middle-chain fatty acids is still controversial. However, I only drink about 6 to 8 ounces a day, so it's not as though it's a taxing change on my diet.

Sure, this evidence if anecdotal and comes from only myself, but it has been VERY difficult for me to raise my good cholesterol, and I am sure that I am not alone in this. I'm not trying to say that coconut milk is some kid of HDL cholesterol wonder product, but it definitely seems to have helped me. So if you have struggled for years unsuccessfully to raise your good cholesterol, it won't hurt to give coconut milk a shot.