HDL-C

The Human Effect Matrix looks at human studies (excluding animal/petri-dish studies) to tell you what what supplements affect HDL-C

Grade	Level of Evidence
A	Robust research conducted with repeated double blind clinical trials
B	Multiple studies where at least two are double-blind and placebo controlled
C	Single double blind study or multiple cohort studies
D	Uncontrolled or observational studies only

Level of Evidence	Supplement	Magnitude of Effect Size	Scientific Consensus	Comments
A	Conjugated Linoleic Acid		63% See all 15 studies	Insufficient evidence to support significant influences on HDL-C
A	Policosanol	Minor	50% See all 12 studies	Unlikely to be potent, either small or no increases in HDL-C are likely to occur after policosanol ingestion. A good deal of the literature is based upon some highly suspicious... show past research from Cuba
A	Fish Oil	Minor	100% See all 27 studies	Mixed evidence, but a possible increase in HDL-C is seen with fish oil supplementation in unhealthy persons
B	Green Tea Catechins	Minor	66% See all 3 studies	Mixed effects with somewhat of an increase, not to a remarkable magnitude
B	Dehydroepiandrosterone		75% See all 5 studies	Most of the evidence leans towards no significant influence of DHEA on HDL-C levels
B	Spirulina	Minor	75% See all 6 studies	A positive influence of spirulina on HDL-C appears to be present, but the magnitude of benefit is not overly remarkable and varies depending on the disease state (with... show states associated with fatty liver having a much greater increase in HDL-C seen with spirulina)
B	Berberine	Minor	100% See study	Degree of improvement was 0.07mmol/L (95% CI 0.04 to 0.10) according to the meta-analysis, not remarkably effective
B	Psyllium	Minor	100% See 2 studies	Similar to the reductions in LDL-C and total cholesterol, the reduction in HDL-C is seemingly small in magnitude and likely not much to be concerned about
B	Olive leaf extract	Minor	42% See all 7 studies	The increase in HDL seen with olive phenolics is somewhat inconsistent and not to a large magnitude when it occurs
B	Grape Seed Extract		100% See all 3 studies	No significant influence on HDL-C even at up to 600mg GSE daily in a high risk population
B	Magnesium		75% See all 4 studies	For the most part, there is no significant direct influence of magnesium on HDL-C levels. Some counter evidence suggests it may occur vicariously through betterment of... show glycemic control in diabetics, but that is not always seen
C	Fenugreek	Minor	100% See study	An increase in HDL-C has been associated with fenugreek ingestion
C	Pyruvate		50% See 2 studies	No significant influence on HDL-C levels
C	Ephedrine	Minor	100% See 2 studies	An increase in HDL-C has been noted with ingestion of ephedrine, may be confounded with weight loss also seen in the trials
C	Ginger	Minor	100% See study	May increase HDL-C levels
C	Curcumin	Minor	50% See 2 studies	Possible increases in HDL-C
C	Black Cohosh		100% See study	No significant influence on HDL-C
C	Punicic Acid	Minor	50% See 2 studies	Although there are possible increases in HDL-C with punicic acid, this has not been noted all the time and may be unreliable
C	Whey Protein		50% See 2 studies	No significant evidence to support an increase in HDL-C with whey protein
C	Vanadium		100% See 2 studies	No significant influence on HDL-C levels in serum of obese subjects
C	Artichoke Extract		100% See all 3 studies	There does not appear to be an inherent effect of Artichoke on HDL-C, although the one study in diabetics suggest that HDL-C might increase when glucose is decreased.
C	Licorice		100% See study	No significant influence of licorice on HDL
C	Gynostemma Pentaphyllum		100% See study	HDL appears unaffected
C	Green Coffee Extract		100% See study	No significant alterations in HDL cholesterol noted following consumption of GCE
C	Pueraria Mirifica	Minor	100% See study	Not overly potent, only testing in menopausal women has been conducted
C	Hemp Protein		100% See 2 studies	No detectable differences in HDL-C levels
C	Nattokinase		100% See study	No significant influence on HDL-C levels
C	Eleutherococcus senticosus		100% See study	No significant influences yet known for HDL cholesterol
C	Benfotiamine		100% See 2 studies	No significant influences on HDL-C observed.
C	Caffeine		100% See study	No significant influences on HDL cholesterol noted
C	Stevia		100% See study	No significant influence on HDL-C has been detected with stevia
C	Shilajit	Minor	100% See study	Minor increase in HDL-C has been detected in persons after shilajit consumption
C	Theaflavins		100% See study	No significant influence of theaflavins on HDL-C
C	Salvia hispanica		100% See 2 studies	HDL-C appears to be unaffected with chia ingestion when compared to similar macronutrient sources
C	Gamma Oryzanol		100% See 2 studies	No detectable influences on HDL cholesterol, although rice bran oil (a source of gamma oryzanol) may have a slight positive effect
C	Garcinia Cambogia		100% See study	No significant influence on HDL-C levels
C	Ganoderma Lucidum	Notable	50% See 2 studies	There may be an increase in HDL-C in persons with hyperlipidemia that doesn't occur in otherwise healthy adults, but this is not certain due to lack of evidence. The degree... show of increase was fairly strong (24%).
C	Hibiscus Sabdariffa		100% See all 3 studies	HDL cholesterol appears to be unaffected following roselle ingestion
C	HMB		100% See 2 studies	No significant influence on HDL cholesterol levels
C	Japanese Knotweed		100% See study	No significant influence on HDL-C in otherwise healthy lean persons
C	Irvingia Gabonensis	Minor	100% See 2 studies	An increase has been noted, but not to a remarkable degree. Independent trials need to be conducted to confirm.
C	L-Carnitine		100% See study	No significant changes in HDL cholesterol seen with supplementation
C	Melatonin		100% See study	No significant influences on HDL-C are noted with melatonin supplementation
C	Microlactin		100% See study	Despite reductions in LDL and total cholesterol, there do not appear to be significant influences on HDL-C levels
C	Vitamin C		100% See study	No significant influence on HDL cholesterol
C	Soy lecithin		100% See study	No significant influence on HDL-C levels
C	Royal Jelly		100% See all 3 studies	No significant influences on HDL-C detectable
C	Resveratrol		100% See study	No significant influence on HDL cholesterol
C	Guggul	Minor	50% See 2 studies	Either no significant change associated with Guggul supplementation or a small decrease is observed
C	Panax Ginseng	Minor	50% See 2 studies	May increase HDL-C levels, seems unreliable in doing so
C	Phosphatidylserine		100% See study	No significant influence on HDL-C with PS supplementation
C	Krill Oil	Notable	100% See 2 studies	Although one study suggest no such increase (healthy persons), the increase seen in hyperlipidemics exceeded 50% and was remarkable; requires replication
C	Citrulline		100% See study	No significant influence on HDL-C concentrations
D	Coleus Forskohlii	Notable	100% See study	Needs to be replicated in larger trials, but the degree of increase was quite remarkable.
D	Coffee	Minor	100% See study	An increase in HDL-C is noted with coffee ingestion
D	Quercetin	Minor	100% See study	An increase in HDL-C has been noted following quercetin supplementation
D	Tauroursodeoxycholic Acid	Minor	100% See study	A decrease in HDL-C has been noted to be secondary to treating cholestasis
D	Pycnogenol	Minor	50% See 2 studies	May increase HDL cholesterol, but has mixed evidence to support it and may be unreliable
D	Pueraria Lobata		100% See study	No detectable influence on HDL-C levels
D	Coconut Oil	Minor	100% See study	Decrease in HDL-C is minor and likely not practically relevant.
D	Yerba Mate	Minor	100% See study	An increase in HDL-C has been noted with Mate consumption
D	Ecklonia Cava		100% See study	No significant influence on HDL-C detected
D	Eclipta Alba		100% See study	No detectable influence on HDL-C cholesterol
D	Tetradecyl Thioacetic Acid	Minor	100% See study	An increase in HDL cholesterol has been noted with TTA consumption
D	Safflower Oil	Minor	100% See study	A slight increase in HDL-C has been noted with safflower oil

References

Fernandez ML. Dietary cholesterol provided by eggs and plasma lipoproteins in healthy populations. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. (2006)
Djoussé L, et al. Egg consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes in older adults. Am J Clin Nutr. (2010)
Flynn MA, et al. Serum lipids and eggs. J Am Diet Assoc. (1986)
Bowman MP, et al. Effect of dietary fat and cholesterol on plasma lipids and lipoprotein fractions in normolipidemic men. J Nutr. (1988)
Chenoweth W, et al. Influence of dietary cholesterol and fat on serum lipids in men. J Nutr. (1981)
Effect of dietary eggs and ascorbic acid on plasma lipid and lipoprotein cholesterol levels in healthy young men
Egg intake does not change plasma lipoprotein and coagulation profiles
Johnson C, Greenland P. Effects of exercise, dietary cholesterol, and dietary fat on blood lipids. Arch Intern Med. (1990)
Sacks FM, et al. Ingestion of egg raises plasma low density lipoproteins in free-living subjects. Lancet. (1984)
Down-regulation of the low-density lipoprotein receptor by dietary cholesterol
A double-blind, randomized, controlled trial of the effects of two eggs per day in moderately hypercholesterolemic and combined hyperlipidemic subjects taught the NCEP step I diet
Romano G, et al. Effects of dietary cholesterol on plasma lipoproteins and their subclasses in IDDM patients. Diabetologia. (1998)
Mayurasakorn K, et al. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol changes after continuous egg consumption in healthy adults. J Med Assoc Thai. (2008)
Vishwanathan R, et al. Consumption of 2 and 4 egg yolks/d for 5 wk increases macular pigment concentrations in older adults with low macular pigment taking cholesterol-lowering statins. Am J Clin Nutr. (2009)
Katz DL, et al. Egg consumption and endothelial function: a randomized controlled crossover trial. Int J Cardiol. (2005)
Njike V, et al. Daily egg consumption in hyperlipidemic adults--effects on endothelial function and cardiovascular risk. Nutr J. (2010)
Jones PJ. Dietary cholesterol and the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients: a review of the Harvard Egg Study and other data. Int J Clin Pract Suppl. (2009)
Dietary cholesterol from eggs increases the ratio of total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in humans: a meta-analysis
Fernandez ML. Effects of eggs on plasma lipoproteins in healthy populations. Food Funct. (2010)
McNamara DJ. The impact of egg limitations on coronary heart disease risk: do the numbers add up. J Am Coll Nutr. (2000)
Fernandez ML, Calle M. Revisiting dietary cholesterol recommendations: does the evidence support a limit of 300 mg/d. Curr Atheroscler Rep. (2010)
Eggs, serum cholesterol, and coronary heart disease
Hu FB, et al. A prospective study of egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease in men and women. JAMA. (1999)
Spence JD, Jenkins DJ, Davignon J. Dietary cholesterol and egg yolks: not for patients at risk of vascular disease. Can J Cardiol. (2010)
Herron KL, et al. High intake of cholesterol results in less atherogenic low-density lipoprotein particles in men and women independent of response classification. Metabolism. (2004)
Pearce KL, Clifton PM, Noakes M. Egg consumption as part of an energy-restricted high-protein diet improves blood lipid and blood glucose profiles in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Br J Nutr. (2011)
Goodrow EF, et al. Consumption of one egg per day increases serum lutein and zeaxanthin concentrations in older adults without altering serum lipid and lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations. J Nutr. (2006)
Effect of a High Saturated Fat and No-Starch Diet on Serum Lipid Subfractions in Patients With Documented Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease
Mutungi G, et al. Dietary cholesterol from eggs increases plasma HDL cholesterol in overweight men consuming a carbohydrate-restricted diet. J Nutr. (2008)
Mutungi G, et al. Eggs distinctly modulate plasma carotenoid and lipoprotein subclasses in adult men following a carbohydrate-restricted diet. J Nutr Biochem. (2010)
Fernández-Robredo P, et al. Egg yolk improves lipid profile, lipid peroxidation and retinal abnormalities in a murine model of genetic hypercholesterolemia. J Nutr Biochem. (2008)
Sureda A, et al. L-citrulline-malate influence over branched chain amino acid utilization during exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol. (2010)
Thibault R, et al. Oral citrulline does not affect whole body protein metabolism in healthy human volunteers: results of a prospective, randomized, double-blind, cross-over study. Clin Nutr. (2011)
Moinard C, et al. Dose-ranging effects of citrulline administration on plasma amino acids and hormonal patterns in healthy subjects: the Citrudose pharmacokinetic study. Br J Nutr. (2008)
Bendahan D, et al. Citrulline/malate promotes aerobic energy production in human exercising muscle. Br J Sports Med. (2002)
Pérez-Guisado J, Jakeman PM. Citrulline malate enhances athletic anaerobic performance and relieves muscle soreness. J Strength Cond Res. (2010)
Cormio L, et al. Oral L-citrulline supplementation improves erection hardness in men with mild erectile dysfunction. Urology. (2011)
Orozco-Gutiérrez JJ, et al. Effect of L-arginine or L-citrulline oral supplementation on blood pressure and right ventricular function in heart failure patients with preserved ejection fraction. Cardiol J. (2010)
Hickner RC, et al. L-citrulline reduces time to exhaustion and insulin response to a graded exercise test. Med Sci Sports Exerc. (2006)
Sureda A, et al. Effects of L-citrulline oral supplementation on polymorphonuclear neutrophils oxidative burst and nitric oxide production after exercise. Free Radic Res. (2009)
Ochiai M, et al. Short-term effects of L-citrulline supplementation on arterial stiffness in middle-aged men. Int J Cardiol. (2012)
Figueroa A, et al. Oral L-citrulline supplementation attenuates blood pressure response to cold pressor test in young men. Am J Hypertens. (2010)

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