Dried Apples Raise HDL
The Behavioral Medicine Report reports that after 6 months of eating 75 g of dried apples per day, women 45 to 65 years old had a 23% decrease in LDL (bad) and a 4% increase in HDL (good) cholesterol. The people eating the apples also lost about 3 lbs on average and had lower levels of inflammatory markers.
The apple regimen was compared to dried prunes which apparently didn’t fare so well. The prune lobby must be livid.
Link to abstract. (Thanks, Michael!)
People occasionally write me asking how to increase their HDL. It looks like dried apples might be the way to go! Exercise and nuts are also likely to help.
In other strange HDL news, I randomly heard from two, unconnected people today whose HDL cholesterol levels were higher than their LDL levels. I had never heard of that before and then I got two in one day.
Thanks to Anne for sending me the apple story link!
April 15th, 2011 at 8:25 pm
Comment I received off site:
> Question- does eating fresh apples raise HDL more or less than dried apples? I am just not a fan of dried apples.
75 g of dried apples is the equivalent to 2 medium apples. I’m not aware of fresh apples being tested but I don’t see why, if you eat the equivalent amount, fresh apples wouldn’t also work.
April 16th, 2011 at 11:24 am
It is amazing that dried apples would this and in such a small quantity.
April 17th, 2011 at 5:27 am
My (vegetarian for several years, mostly vegan) sister’s HDL is higher than her LDL. Nobody can figure out why her numbers are so extreme – she’s a little bit more active, but the rest of the family tends toward both high LDL and the two of us who are vegan just have normal levels.
April 19th, 2011 at 5:06 pm
Can we assume that fresh apples will do the same, or is there any nutritional benefits in dried fruits/vegs/berries that the fresh versions lack?
April 19th, 2011 at 5:14 pm
Arild,
75 g of dried apples is the equivalent to 2 medium apples. I’m not aware of fresh apples being tested but I don’t see why, if you eat the equivalent amount, fresh apples wouldn’t also work.
April 20th, 2011 at 4:34 pm
The study author Bahram H. Arjmandi says fresh are likely to be even better.
April 20th, 2011 at 5:17 pm
I wonder if the dried apples and/or prunes were preserved with sulfur dioxide (as many dried fruits are). If so, the sulfur dioxide may have something to do with the results.
April 20th, 2011 at 8:29 pm
My HDL is 82 and my LDL is 67 and I love apples! I eat 2 or 3 every day when they’re in season. I don’t really think that is the sole cause of my good cholesterol readings but it is funny.
April 23rd, 2011 at 9:03 pm
Since I received a lot of traffic via this site before foolishly deleting my blog, I wanted to stop by and let everyone know the blog is back up, with no deletion plans.
Thanks for paying attention!
June 30th, 2011 at 4:44 pm
HDL levels will go high because of using ONLY good oils also. I also get high HDL as high as 99, which gives me high cholesterol overall, but which my dr. does not worry aboult, because it is from the high HDL!! Could by why the gentleman’s sister’s HDL is high. I personally have only used mostly olive oil, with canola, only, for years now. I also eat no sugar, and not white bread at all.