The HDL LDL Ratio - The Benchmark for Preventing Heart Disease

About the Ratio

High Density Lipoprotein mistakenly called hdl cholesterol, is a substance that carries cholesterol particles from your artery walls back through the bloodstream and into the liver where some of it is metabolized and some excreted from your body in the form of bile salts.

In theory, this is how it protects you against cardiovascular disease. Statistics tell us that when the ratio is favorable, your risk of heart problems is minimized, and so it makes sense to learn how to increase HDL, and keep the HDL LDL ratio as good as possible.

The ratio is determined by taking your LDL, (low-density cholesterol) number, and dividing it by your HDL (high-density cholesterol) number. The resulting number is what doctors use to determine your risk of cardiovascular disease.

The higher the HDL, the lower the risk. Lets look at some numbers to give you an idea of how this works.

For example:

• Total cholesterol is: 200
• HDL is: 50
• LDL is: 150

The ratio would be: 3

The chart below will tell you what levels are considered good. The HDL LDL ratio in the above example would be considered excellent, and would mean that you have a below average risk of cardiovascular disease.

Over time, what was considered to be good or safe levels have been adjusted downward, and I am afraid this is at least in part due to the push to get more people on cholesterol lowering medications.

Foods to raise HDL are not emphasized for this reason. The current medical model for prevention of cardiovascular disease focuses on drug therapy. This is why you must learn how to increase HDL and get the optimal HDL LDL ratio to prevent heart disease.

High-density lipoproteins have recently been found to have potent antioxidant activity, and this may well be the reason for its “protective” role in regards to vascular disease. See the notation below:

How To Increase HDL

Now that we know that a good HDL LDL ratio has been statistically shown to be beneficial to your cardiovascular health, let’s go about getting those levels as close to optimal as possible, with exercise, supplements, and foods to increase HDL.

There are several things that are known to raise HDL levels.

• Aerobic or interval training exercise
• Dietary changes – with balanced fat intake
• Eat for your blood type and metabolic type
• Specific nutritional supplements

The foods to increase HDL do it in several ways. Some foods like healthy fats, provide the raw materials or (precursors) your body needs to make HDL.

Other foods such as high fiber foods and low glycemic fruits and vegetables may indirectly raise HDL by preventing inflammation, boosting antioxidant status, and lowering blood sugar and insulin.

Some of these foods may also possess antioxidant activity themselves and work synergistically with HDL to protect against cardiovascular disease.

Specific supplements that will raise HDL levels and help optimize the HDL LDL ratio are:

• Fish oil
• Pantothenic acid (vitamin B-5)
• niacin – (vitamin B-3)
• Gugulipid
• Coenzyme Q-10
• Carnitine
• Vitamin-C
• Vitamin-D
• Magnesium
• Polycosanol
• Vitamin E-complex
• Alpha Lipoic Acid
• N-Acetyl-Cysteine
• CLA – conjugated linoleic acid

All of these supplements help increase HDL levels, however niacin (B-3) and calcium pantothenate (B-5) are the most effective, so you should focus on them first, and add others if needed.

Foods to Raise HDL

There are a number of foods that are claimed to raise HDL levels. Among these are:

• Fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines
• Raw nuts and seeds such as walnuts, pecans, almonds, and flaxseeds
• Whole eggs
• Onions
• Fresh raw low glycemic vegetables – especially dark leafy greens
• Oat bran
• Alcohol - 1 or 2 drinks per day maximum

While I hesitate to reccomend drinking alcohol for raising HDL, research indicate that it helps. Please remember though, that this is not a license to drink to excess!

Action Steps

• Get your HDL LDL ratio tested to establish baseline levels
• Work in 3 sessions of circuit weight training or interval training per week
• Eat for your blood type and metabolic type
• Avoid of refined foods as possible – stick to raw fruits and vegetables
• Be sure to get plenty of good fats in your daily diet
• Supplement with niacin (B-3) and calcium pantothenate (B-5) to raise HDL

Sound hard? It’s really not. Over time you can work in small positive changes to your lifestyle that will add up in the long run. Wellness and antiaging work when they become habits that you just do without really thinking about them.

You will learn about the foods to raise HDL and gradually insert them into your diet, replacing the foods that are less healthy. You will also learn how to increase HDL, and in time these steps will become so automatic, you wont even have to think about them.

The HDL LDL ratio is one of the cornerstones of wellness and antiaging. It’s a benchmark that will help you really reduce your risk of heart disease and ensure a long and healthy life!

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