How I Raised My Good HDL Cholesterol To Boost My Testosterone
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Foods That Raise HDL Cholesterol While Keeping Triglycerides Low
On today’s episode of Live Lean TV, I’m sharing my personal experience on how I raised my good HDL cholesterol to boost my testosterone.
I’m continuously monitoring my blood work to make sure the foods I’m eating are taking me closer towards my goals.
Before I get into it, let me know in the comments if you’ve ever had your cholesterol levels tested.
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Now I have to be clear and upfront, I am not a doctor.
I am just sharing my journey in how I raised my HDL cholesterol levels, based on my naturopathic doctor’s recommendations.
Based on my last cholesterol test, I’ve successfully raised my healthy HDL cholesterol to peak levels.
This is important, because as a 41 year old dad of two young kids, one of my main goals is optimizing my testosterone levels.
By increasing my cholesterol levels, it seemed to be a prime contributor in helping me double my testosterone levels from the low 300s to the 600s.
How To Test Your Cholesterol Levels At Home
Before I share how I did all of this, I want to first give a shout out to today’s video sponsor, LetsGetChecked.
LetsGetChecked is the leader in at-home testing.
If you’ve been following my journey over the years, you’ve probably noticed that I’ve taken a much more data driven approach to my health.
In previous episodes, I’ve showed you how I use LetsGetChecked’s at home tests to test:
Today I want to show you the LetsGetChecked Diabetes and Heart Test.
As a LetsGetChecked affiliate, we may receive compensation from LetsGetChecked if you purchase products or services through the links provided.
The Diabetes And Heart Test
This at home finger prick test will provide you with your:
- Total cholesterol levels
- HDL cholesterol levels
- LDL cholesterol levels
- HDL % of total cholesterol
- Total triglyceride levels
- HbA1C blood sugar levels
If you’re looking to reduce your risk of heart disease, monitoring your triglyceride levels and your blood sugar levels is very important.
But I’ll talk more about that later in this post.
Once you order the at home test kit online, it shows up at your doorstep a few days later.
The kit provides you with everything you need to easily self-administer the finger prick test.
They now even provide a vibrating finger device to help increase blood flow for collection.
In addition to your cholesterol level results, this test also allows you to monitor your HbA1c results, which measures your average blood sugar levels over the past 3 months.
This provides you with the data to see if you are in the normal or pre-diabetic reference range.
Here’s How Simple It Is To Test Your Cholesterol Levels At Home
Follow the provided easy to follow directions to collect your blood sample in the morning before eating.
Then simply mail it back in the provided pre-paid envelope.
You will then receive your results in the secure LetsGetChecked app within 2-5 days.
If your results come back abnormal, a nurse can reach out to you for support.
30% Off LetsGetChecked Discount Coupon Code
Like I said, I’ve been using LetsGetChecked for over a year to monitor my blood markers.
If you’re interested in this at home cholesterol and diabetes test, the testosterone test, or any other blood tests, use this link with the 30% off coupon code: LEAN30.
With all that said, let’s jump into it.
How To Boost Your Good HDL Cholesterol Levels
Here’s the quick back story.
A few years ago, I shared a video post on how I doubled my testosterone levels.
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Long story short, after getting my blood tested, my doctor, who at the time was also my personal training client, was shocked to see that my testosterone levels were in the low 300s.
Based on these low testosterone results, one of my main priorities with my diet and workouts was to naturally increase my testosterone levels.
To help me with that, I worked with a naturopathic doctor who was monitoring my blood test results.
I recorded one of our calls where my naturopathic doctor covered the importance of raising my cholesterol levels, in order to optimize my hormones.
This is a transcript of what my doctor said on the call:
“I feel like every man I get back is low testosterone. With your cholesterol at 150, most doctor’s would be thrilled with you because this is an excellent lipid profile. You couldn’t really do much better. The one thing I will say though is, in my opinion, it’s a little low.”
“Why I don’t want low cholesterol for you is because it’s the backbone of all of your hormones. Especially if you’re having hormone deficiency issues. If you don’t have enough cholesterol, you’re not going to be pumping out extra testosterone.”
In other words, she wanted me to increase my total cholesterol levels.
Here Are The Foods I Used To Boost HDL Cholesterol
Note: this is what worked for me, based on my body and goals. Your body may be different, so consult with an expert who can work with your current situation.
A whole foods diet, high in protein, healthy fat, leafy green vegetables, and lower in refined processed carbohydrates is optimal for overall health.
Based on this advice, my naturopathic doctor recommended that I consume more healthy fats, particularly saturated fats and monounsaturated fats, to boost my HDL cholesterol levels.
I Consume A Lot Of These Foods To Boost My HDL Cholesterol:
- eggs
- I eat 4 whole eggs every morning
- grass fed beef
- I eat 1 serving of grass fed beef on most days
- cold water fish
- I’m trying to have more fish throught the week
- I consume fish oil every day
- nuts and seeds
- I add nuts and seeds to my salads every day
- avocado
- I eat avocado or guacamole pretty much every day
- healthy oils
- coconut oil
- I drink a coconut oil coffee every day
- avocado oil
- I use avocado oil to cook all my foods
- olive oil
- I add olive oil to my salad every day
- coconut oil
- grass fed butter
- I occasionally have bread or a bagel, which I’ll add grass fed butter too
My doctor also recommended:
- MCT oil
- ghee
- pumpkin seed oil
- walnut oil
However, I don’t usually include these in my every day diet.
But wait, you may be thinking that cholesterol is bad because it raises your risk for cardiovascular disease, right?
Well, there are a lot of common misconceptions on cholesterol.
So let’s first talk about what is cholesterol.
What Is Cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a waxy substance that is found in all your cells.
It is primarily produced by your liver, as well as from the foods you consume.
Your body needs cholesterol to:
- build cells
- improve brain function
- make vitamins, including all important vitamin D
- optimize hormones, including testosterone
In the past, the term cholesterol has often been branded as being bad for your heart, and the primary cause of cardiovascular disease.
However, over the years, the focus has begun to shift from total cholesterol levels, to a combination of a specific bad type of cholesterol and triglycerides levels.
Triglycerides To HDL Ratio
Research now points to a high ratio of triglycerides to HDL cholesterol as the major predictor of extensive coronary disease.
A general rule of thumb is having a triglycerides to HDL ratio of less than 2 is optimal.
When the ratio is more than 4, it’s considered high.
HDL Vs. LDL Cholesterol: What’s The Difference?
Your total cholesterol levels are broken down into two different types of cholesterol:
- HDL cholesterol
- LDL cholesterol
HDL cholesterol, short for High-Density Lipoprotein, is typically referred to as the good cholesterol, as higher levels of HDL may lower the risk of heart disease.
It helps remove the bad cholesterol from your bloodstream and sends it back to the liver.
LDL cholesterol, short for Low-Density Lipoprotein, is typically referred to as the bad cholesterol.
Excessive LDL cholesterol can build up on your blood vessel walls, thus increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke.
However, it’s important to note that there are two kinds of LDL cholesterol:
- Small dense LDL
- Large fluffy LDL
The large fluffy LDL particles appear to be a less dangerous risk for heart disease.
The small dense LDL particles are the ones that increase the risk of heart disease, because they have an easier time getting into the arteries and damaging blood vessels.
The other heart disease marker to monitor are your triglyceride levels.
What Are Triglycerides?
Triglycerides are fats found in the bloodstream.
When you consume more calories than your body burns, your body converts those excessive calories into triglycerides, which are then stored as body fat.
As your triglycerides levels go up, it’s likely that your levels of the dangerous small dense LDL particles will also go up, and your levels of good HDL cholesterol goes down.
That’s a nasty combination to increase your risk of heart disease.
Lower your triglyceride levels, by lowering your blood sugar levels and insulin, is a key marker in reducing your risk of heart disease.
You can do this by lowering your carbohydrate consumption, especially when it comes to refined carbohydrates that make up a large percentage of the standard American diet.
Bottom Line On Raising Good HDL Cholesterol Levels
When it comes to optimizing your cholesterol and lowering your risk of heart disease, it’s important to focus on boosting your good HDL cholesterol levels and lowering your triglycerides and blood sugar levels.
The first step is to get a blood test to monitor your current:
- cholesterol ratios
- blood sugar levels
- triglycerides
Once you see your blood test results, you can then access if you need to make changes to your lifestyle and diet.
These diet and lifestyle changes could include:
- Adding more healthy fat into your diet
- Lowering your consumption of refined processed carbohydrates
- Following a workout program comprised of strength training and HIIT workouts, that has you training hard for 3-5 days a week.
- Getting 7-8 hours of high quality sleep every day.
- Of course, if you’re smoking, stop.
Once again, thanks to the sponsor of today’s video, LetsGetChecked.
You can use this link and 30% off discount coupon code: LEAN30 to get your at home cholesterol test mailed to your front door.
Thanks for watching and keep Living Lean.
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Questions Of The Day:
- Have you ever had your cholesterol levels tested?
- Have you ever had your testosterone levels tested?
Share your experiences in the comment section below.
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Brad Gouthro is the founder of Live Lean TV, a media company focused on helping men and women “Live Lean” 365 days a year. Brad’s programs and content have helped millions of people all over the world learn how to get in shape, and more importantly, sustain it for life.
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