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24 years old and eat 90% paleo most of the time. Why so low? .............

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How long have you been "90% Paleo"? – Underground Nutritionist Jun 4 2011 at 14:49

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Blood lipid levels, including HDL, are genetically influenced. You can't do much about your genetic tendencies, but there are measures that will increase your HDL level.

You don't give specifics about your diet, but adding more saturated fat can increase your HDL (as well as your LDL). When I added coconut oil to my diet, I increased my HDL by 20 points in 6 months.

Other ways to raise your HDL include increasing exercise duration and consuming modest amounts of alcohol.

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There's so much individual variation. My HDL tested at 71 when I was sick from eating tons of grains while vegetarian (although I have always eaten plenty of fat, not always from the best sources). Almost my whole family tends to low total cholesterol and LDL, and high HDL.

Do you know what yours was before paleo? Might have been even lower.

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No idea, but my Dad has high Cholesterol. Everything else was amazing, I'm just stumped. – Dave Jun 4 2011 at 13:46
I wouldn't worry, and continue to eat paleo. If you haven't been doing it for too long, you might see your HDL climb quite a bit. – animalcule Jun 8 2011 at 16:23

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