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Raising HDL on cycle

Absent1

New member
I recently took a blood test while on cycle. My cholesterol levels are healthy overall (Total: 102, Triglycerides: 81, LDL: 72), but my HDLs are very low at 14. Is this a cause for concern, since my cholesterol is still alright overall? If so, what does everyone suggest specifically for raising HDLs? I am already eating very heathily, taking niacin and several other support supplements. Thanks for the help.
 
Mucci said:
Red yeast Rice with co10.

And healthy food
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Thanks for the response. I feel I am eating as healthily as possible and I am taking both of those supplements, but maybe I can increase the dosage. Currently on 1200mg red yeast rice and 100mg ubiquinol. What amount would you suggest?
 
Absent1 said:
Thanks for the response. I feel I am eating as healthily as possible and I am taking both of those supplements, but maybe I can increase the dosage. Currently on 1200mg red yeast rice and 100mg ubiquinol. What amount would you suggest?
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I use the Same dose tbh. What aas are you using/used?
 
Fish Oils / Krill Oils
Co Q10
Niacin
Olive Oil
 
vujade said:
Fish Oils / Krill Oils
Co Q10
Niacin
Olive Oil
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Thanks for the response. Currently taking one serving of Animal Omega daily, plus a extra 2g Viva Labs Fish Oil. I think those are pretty good choices for the brand, that is the only thing I can think of in terms of improving my fish oil supplements. Any alternative recommendation for the brands? Or perhaps you would suggest higher doses?

As previously mentioned, I am taking 100mg ubiquinol for CoQ10. I am also taking 1500mg niacin. I admit, I don't use olive oil much, nor take a supplement for it. Would a supplement be useful for that? I do get most of my daily fat intake from lots of healthy nuts, especially almonds, and some from avocado, healthy grains (oatmeal/rice/quinoa), and grass fed meat.
 
I like Controlled Labs Oxi Mega Fish Oils
Great priced, and well dosed.

I use olive oil every day. I cook my eggs in it, and i occasionally put it on salads

It has been known to lower bad, and raise good cholesterol.
 
Was gonna use red yeast rice to lower my ldl until I read about dome nasty effects associated with its use including muscle cramps and weakness, possible liver damage and a rare condition called rhabdomyolysis. Think fish oil and olive oil are a safer bet.
 
vujade said:
I like Controlled Labs Oxi Mega Fish Oils
Great priced, and well dosed.

I use olive oil every day. I cook my eggs in it, and i occasionally put it on salads

It has been known to lower bad, and raise good cholesterol.
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Indeed. We have an awesome store here called "Just Tapped" that has every flavor of olive oil imaginable. Naturally, they have various regular olive oils as well. But dude....their ancho chili olive oil....fuuuh, it's bomb. Put some olive oil in your rice before it cooks and just soaks up the flavor. It's amazing. Black truffle oil.....ahhhh yeah. Pretty pricey though. It's like $6.50 for 100ml......

EDIT: Sorry, OP, didn't mean to derail. :D
 
nubioso said:
Indeed. We have an awesome store here called "Just Tapped" that has every flavor of olive oil imaginable. Naturally, they have various regular olive oils as well. But dude....their ancho chili olive oil....fuuuh, it's bomb. Put some olive oil in your rice before it cooks and just soaks up the flavor. It's amazing. Black truffle oil.....ahhhh yeah. Pretty pricey though. It's like $6.50 for 100ml......

EDIT: Sorry, OP, didn't mean to derail. :D
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I actually love that sort of thing, so feel free to derail hehe. I found the place online, so I might even try them out. I am not particularly a fan of plain olive oil. This could be just the thing for getting me to include it regularly in my diet. Thanks so much.

Still, I was hoping for supplement recommendations, just because that is easier to include. Anyone have any other suggestions?
 
Absent1 said:
I actually love that sort of thing, so feel free to derail hehe. I found the place online, so I might even try them out. I am not particularly a fan of plain olive oil. This could be just the thing for getting me to include it regularly in my diet. Thanks so much.

Still, I was hoping for supplement recommendations, just because that is easier to include. Anyone have any other suggestions?
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Garlic bulb helps too. You can find concentrated garlic pills. Worked pretty well for my BP. Not sure if that was mentioned?

MCT - medium chain triglycerides can help as well. Usually found in coconut oil, but I believe you can find it by itself as well. There have been some new studies coming out about coconut oil not being as good as people think and to use it sparingly.

As far as olive oil, and not liking the plain stuff, I think you'll find if you try an actual high-quality olive oil you will in fact enjoy the plain stuff. I was in the same boat as you, until I took one of their little classes on the differences between them all.
 
nubioso said:
Garlic bulb helps too. You can find concentrated garlic pills. Worked pretty well for my BP. Not sure if that was mentioned?

MCT - medium chain triglycerides can help as well. Usually found in coconut oil, but I believe you can find it by itself as well. There have been some new studies coming out about coconut oil not being as good as people think and to use it sparingly.

As far as olive oil, and not liking the plain stuff, I think you'll find if you try an actual high-quality olive oil you will in fact enjoy the plain stuff. I was in the same boat as you, until I took one of their little classes on the differences between them all.
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It looks like I could be taking more garlic. One of my general support supplements has some, but recommended doses seem higher. I will be ordering it immediately, thanks for the advice! I think I will start with adding more olive oil, might move on to MCT if I need further improvement. I am sure you're right about the quality being a key factor in my dislike of olive oil.

What about the fact that my cholesterol is actually still at the bottom of normal range, despite the low HDL levels? As long as my LDL and other things don't deteriorate further, does anyone see a big problem with the low HDL? Or maybe the fact that the HDL level is so low guarantees my LDL will get worse over time?
 
Hmmm, as far as your HDL and LDL specific questions you'd be better off consulting a doctor in regards to that. I don't know enough about the human body to say whether or not a consistent low HDL will impact LDL down the road.
 
Recognize said:
Anyone know why my chd risk would be high?
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I am not positive, but from some quick searching and reading, it looks like its just calculated based on Total Cholesterol/HDL/LDL/Triglyceride values. So the same suggestions people are giving me would apply to you. Maybe someone else knows more.
 
Absent1 said:
I am not positive, but from some quick searching and reading, it looks like its just calculated based on Total Cholesterol/HDL/LDL/Triglyceride values. So the same suggestions people are giving me would apply to you. Maybe someone else knows more.
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Yeah I'm guessing my ldl has to do with the risk. My total and hdl are in good range
 
Recognize said:
Yeah I'm guessing my ldl has to do with the risk. My total and hdl are in good range
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Yeah dude it only takes one of those markers to be "Outside of normal" for them to consider you a high risk. HDL too low, LDL too high, Total cholesterol, etc..

I think it's more of something to just make you more aware of it. Not like you're going to drop dead tomorrow from a heart attack. Just start taking some of the things mentioned in this thread to help boost HDL which helps to lower LDL. I know you said your HDL was in the normal range, but still....
 
Whilst its of course good practice to do everything you can to keep your lipids as healthy as possible, youre ultimately fighting a losing battle after a certain point. At the very least, youre obviously not going to eradicate LDL totally anyway (and neither should you want to).

Chasing lipid values can be a bit like a victim of burglary spending all their resources trying to catch burglars at the expense of beefing up home security. In this analogy the burglars are LDL and home security is limiting arterial inflammation.

If youre not on top of arterial inflammation, it wont mean sh1t how healthy your lipids are...youre high risk for artherosclerosis and the rest. The take home message is this: spend at least as much $$ minimising arterial inflammation and keeping blood at "low" viscosity as you do on lipid supplements.
 
OP - my garlic supplement is nature's made btw. 2 tablets are equivalent to 2.5 grams of garlic bulb. Going to go out on a limb and say yours doesn't have that much.

However, like Nac was talking about, there's other things to consider.
 
Recognize said:
Also should I worry about my hdl level
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yes you should 23 is quite low man. Stop running gear and get it back up. Google Niacin in the form nicotinic acid dose for hdl improvement and start there. Ideally 50 or higher is what you want. 40 or higher is a start though
 
John Smeton said:
yes you should 23 is quite low man. Stop running gear and get it back up. Google Niacin in the form nicotinic acid dose for hdl improvement and start there. Ideally 50 or higher is what you want. 40 or higher is a start though
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I pretty much just started my cycle. I'm 5 weeks in...
 
Recognize said:
I pretty much just started my cycle. I'm 5 weeks in...
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Beyond diet, exercise, suppz and a handful of iffy cholesterol drugs there aint sh1t you can do. So, you either modify your cycle or dump it altogether. If you choose to run with it, as I talked about above get proactive with arterial inflammation. That should be numero uno concern anyway, whether you run AAS or not.

But no, nothing will significantly overcome the effect of AAS on lipids. Ive yet to see proof of any compound normalising fubar'd lipids on-cycle if all other variables are optimal.
 
Nac said:
Beyond diet, exercise, suppz and a handful of iffy cholesterol drugs there aint sh1t you can do. So, you either modify your cycle or dump it altogether. If you choose to run with it, as I talked about above get proactive with arterial inflammation. That should be numero uno concern anyway, whether you run AAS or not.

But no, nothing will significantly overcome the effect of AAS on lipids.
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I was under the impression that everyone got low HDL on cycle
 
Recognize said:
I was under the impression that everyone got low HDL on cycle
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Sure, but thats about as precise as saying all natty males have low TT in the evening. How low is low? There is a wide range across any population. But, what does it matter anyway? You have 2 basic options: minimise innevitable impact, or dont run AAS.
 
Nac said:
Sure, but thats as about as precise as saying all natty males have low TT in the evening. How low is low? There is a wide range across any population. But, what does it matter anyway? You have 2 basic options: minimise innevitable impact, or dont run AAS.
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Alright. Just so I clear water my hdl is fine off cycle
 
Recognize said:
I don't want to sound like I noob but I thought I'd be fine with the low hdl for 6 more weeks
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I cant remember but did anyone point out that your CHD risk is usually calculated by dividing one of your lipid values by another? Theres a few that are used.

Im not going to tell you "dont worry bro, she'll be right!!" cos this is a risk factor you have to research and be comfortable with accepting. Just cos I say "Ive seen worse, what youve got is typical" doesnt suddenly make things acceptable. Its up to you.
 
nubioso said:
OP - my garlic supplement is nature's made btw. 2 tablets are equivalent to 2.5 grams of garlic bulb. Going to go out on a limb and say yours doesn't have that much.

However, like Nac was talking about, there's other things to consider.
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Yea, it definitely does not have that much garlic. That brand looks like a great choice, but I already ordered Now Foods Garlic 5000. I have been happy with quite a few of their supplements. Thanks again for the advice.
 
Nac said:
Beyond diet, exercise, suppz and a handful of iffy cholesterol drugs there aint sh1t you can do. So, you either modify your cycle or dump it altogether. If you choose to run with it, as I talked about above get proactive with arterial inflammation. That should be numero uno concern anyway, whether you run AAS or not.

But no, nothing will significantly overcome the effect of AAS on lipids. Ive yet to see proof of any compound normalising fubar'd lipids on-cycle if all other variables are optimal.
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Any supplements besides the ones mentioned already that you would suggest specifically for improving arterial inflammation?
 
Recognize said:
I forgot to add in that I use exemestane which might be the cause of the low hdl
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I am using exem as my AI as well, but I was under the impression that it is the least impactful of the AIs on lipid values. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.
 
Absent1 said:
I am using exem as my AI as well, but I was under the impression that it is the least impactful of the AIs on lipid values. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.
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Pretty sure that is sure. Your lipids are wack too tho. My lipids were fine before cycle. I've been reading a lot of places to not worry about lipids on cycle but worry about them for long term cycles and worry if they aren't normal off cycle
 
How much cardio are you doing? Pretty sure cardio is one of the best ways to naturally increase hdl
 
mkretz said:
How much cardio are you doing? Pretty sure cardio is one of the best ways to naturally increase hdl
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That is a good point, and a somewhat obvious mistake on my part. Since I am bulking, I have been doing minimal cardio. I even skipped it in favor of recovery (or maybe laziness, heh) the past few weeks. I did not even consider the impact of that on my hdls, despite knowing about the connection between them. Thanks so much! Any recommendations for amount of cardio and/or type? While bulking, I usually just do 60 mins of inclined walking 1-2 times a week, although its been 2-3 weeks since I did that.
 
mkretz said:
How much cardio are you doing? Pretty sure cardio is one of the best ways to naturally increase hdl
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Bah, you know I forget simple **** like that as well. Definitely need to up my cardio, not only for HDL reasons, but it's just good for you anyway.
 
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