Is there a Nutritional Guide that is available to help you choice your meals to increase the good cholesterol? That is my problem, my bad Cholesterol is down but so is my HDL. Been that way for a long time. Nothing seems to raise the HDL. Looking for suggestions.

Good question.

HIV infection alone can decrease HDL (high density lipoprotein or good cholesterol). HDL serves as the "soap" that can help to keep our blood vessels clean from the plaque build up that can be caused by LDL (low density lipoprotein) and other factors. When we start HIV medications, HDL goes up but, in most cases, not to normal levels. Non nucleoside analogs like Viramune and Sustiva have the strongest effect on increasing HDL out of all the HIV medications currently available.

The SMART study showed that low HDL was one of the main factors associated in increasing cardiovascular risks in HIV.

So, many of us can be walking around with low HDL even after our HIV viral load is controlled on HIV medications. Statins and fibrates, common medications used to treat high LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, can increase HDL but yet again, most of us still do not reach adequate HDL levels. Exercise and some dietary changes can also help. Niacin, a B vitamin, is very effective at increasing HDL but many people cannot tolerate its "flushing" effect on the skin. Some companies are researching ways to inhibit this flushing that causes people to stop Niacin.

I found an excellent presentation on youtube that you may want to watch: How to increase HDL

I hope this helped!

Nelson