Trying to find tasty foods that raise HDL isn't always an easy task.
After all they have to taste good, be affordable, and we don't want to have to hire a safari guide to locate which rock they may be hiding under.
Not much to ask, wouldn't you say? In this article about foods that raise HDL we will briefly cover what HDL stands for, why it is considered beneficial, and then reveal a few foods found at your local grocery store that would be good additions to any shopping cart bent on the destruction of high cholesterol.
Cholesterol does not float freely in the bloodstream instead it is attached to special carriers called lipoproteins.
The two most important carriers are low density lipoproteins (LDL) and high density lipoproteins (HDL).
The levels of LDL and HDL have completely different effects on heart and cardiovascular health.
LDL is considered bad cholesterol and is associated with an elevated risk of heart attack and stroke while HDL is associated with heart and arterial health.
So in essence cholesterol will need a ride, the only question is whether it will be a drunk cab driver bent on destruction (LDL) or a sober one that makes sure cholesterol gets to its intended destination without incident (HDL).
Now it becomes fairly obvious that the more high density lipoprotein floating around in our blood the better off we will ultimately be.
The question is where is the best place to start.
After all can't I just take a pill and get some of that pharmaceutical magic rolling through my veins.
Maybe, but the only current medication designed to do this is very new, has a number of unpleasant label warnings, and likely will need to taken with other medications to achieve the proper HDL/LDL ratio.
So we are back to doing it the good old fashioned way, by trying to find affordable, available, and tasty foods that raise HDL.
Ironically, there are a lot of foods that lower problematic LDL cholesterol but very few that ratchet up HDL.
Most experts agree the best two foods that raise HDL are apples and pears.
Wait a minute, didn't my grandmother say an apple a day would keep the doctor away? I'm sure she did but what she really meant was an apple a day will keep the cardiologist away! Research suggests that soluble pectins form a gel in your stomach that mops up fats and send them on their merry way right out of the body.
Apples and pears also have the added bonus of firming up loose stool and have been used for years as a home remedy for diarrhea.
But it just might be the flavonoids that are found in abundance in apples, pears, and dark skinned grapes that might be the real driver in raising beneficial HDL levels.
Perhaps we will know more in a few years but for now it is clear that eating apples and pears just might be the ticket to improving cholesterol health and balance.
Other foods helpful for HDL are garlic and possibly fish but the jury is still out to sea on that one.