[quote]jsbrook wrote:
eic wrote:
Tokendude wrote:
BTW, I’m one of those freak heart patients, as I’ve posted previously. Never smoked, never had diabetes, never been excessively overweight, ran cross country in High School, ran regularly ~5 miles/day up until about age 30 when work became too demanding, never had high cholesterol, etc., etc.
Your history of excessive cardiovascular activity is a big red flag, not a mitigating factor. I’ve seen emerging information which suggests that, beyond a certain threshold, additional cardiovascular activity does not strengthen the heart anymore; it simply inflames the tissue. Sort of like localized overtraining for the heart. That might be the first thing I’d consider.
Pretty unlikely. When they’ve isolated confounds like poor diet out, the incidence of heart disease in endurance athletes is EXTREMELY low.
The HDL is a concern though. Whatever the pro-cholesterol people say, people with low HDL commonly have heart problems, whether or not they have high LDL. Fish oil is great for HDL. It really helps raise it. So do walnuts and other sources of polyunsaturated fat.[/quote]
I got pissed when getting regular cardio, eating clean, and taking a lot of fish oil and my HDL actually went down a little. My LDL and triglycerides went down significantly, so it is not supervising that in theory my HDL went down some also. My HDL is only in the 30s. I was hoping to actually raise my HDL.
I then did more research on fish oil and it seems there are many studies with strong evidence for fish oil lowering LDL and triglycerides. The studies also show fish oil did nothing for HDL. So I guess my results help to support their findings.
For almost everyone exercise and diet significantly lowers LDL. For many in also raises HDL significantly and for some it does little to nothing.
I have concluded that if I want to increase my HDL I may try: curcumin, and a daily glass of OJ or Concord grape juice. The juice may raise LDL and triglycerides slightly but I like the trade off if it works. I am not going to take Niacin at this point. I like red wine and a glass a day would most likely help, but I still feel that the cons outweigh the pros for justifying drinking alcohol daily. I may change my mind if my HDL still does not budge next time. I have a large family and their history is actually pretty clean for the most part for heart disease. The exception is a grandfather that died in late 50s from a heart attack (he was heavy smoker and drinker).
Unfortunately HDL is the stronger genetic component and the one harder to change through lifestyle or drugs also.
Sorry to get off topic. If my HDL ever goes up I will post my results.