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01Markers · Lipids

HDL-C

High-density lipoprotein cholesterol

The cholesterol carried in high-density lipoprotein particles, which move cholesterol from tissues back to the liver.

Measured in
Blood (serum)
Units
mg/dL, mmol/L
Also called
HDL, HDL cholesterol, good cholesterol
Two curved protein chains forming a horseshoe shape.
Apolipoprotein A-I dimer (C-terminally truncated) · PDB 3R2P

AWhat moves HDL-C

24 of 27 studied

In human studies, 15 of the 27 supplements and practices researched so far raised HDL-C. 8 showed no change and 1 had mixed results. 3 were never studied for it.
  • Supported 15
  • No effect 8
  • Conflicting 1
  • Not studied 3
See HDL-C on the evidence map →Check claims about HDL-C →

Moves it15

Human studies found a change. The grade reflects the studies behind it, from A (strongest) to D.

Red yeast riceRaisesGrade A

Red yeast rice raises HDL-C.

Meta-analysis or review · 45 studies linked

Studied in: Primary hyperlipidemia, Chinese predominantly, Adult

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HIITRaisesGrade A

HIIT raises HDL-C.

Meta-analysis or review · 43 studies linked

Studied in: Overweight obese, T2DM, Metabolic syndrome

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L-carnitineRaisesGrade A

L-carnitine raises HDL-C.

Meta-analysis or review · Modest effect · 36 studies linked

Studied in: General adult, T2DM, CKD, Dyslipidemia

101 studies; consolidated from hdl_c, hdl_cholesterol, HDL_cholesterol entries. Small effect size. Wang 2020 confirms direction in animal model.

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BerberineRaisesGrade A

Berberine raises HDL-C.

Meta-analysis or review · 35 studies linked

Studied in: Dyslipidemia, T2DM, Predominantly Chinese RCTS

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MagnesiumRaisesGrade A

Magnesium raises HDL-C.

Meta-analysis or review · Small effect · 24 studies linked

Studied in: Dyslipidemic, General adult

Clinically marginal HDL increase (~3.5 mg/dL); directionally consistent but unlikely to meaningfully shift CVD risk in isolation

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ZincRaisesGrade A

Zinc raises HDL-C.

Meta-analysis or review · 22 studies linked

Studied in: T2D, Adults, Global

HDL-C increase is the least consistent lipid effect; multiple MAs show null result. Significant increase reported mainly in T2D subgroups. High inter-study heterogeneity. Not a reliable HDL-raising strategy.

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Zone 2 cardioRaisesGrade A

Zone 2 cardio raises HDL-C.

Meta-analysis or review · 14 studies linked

Studied in: Adults overweight obese, Adults dyslipidemia, Adults metabolic syndrome

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Milk thistleRaisesGrade A

Milk thistle raises HDL-C.

Meta-analysis or review · Small effect · 12 studies linked

Studied in: NAFLD, Metabolic syndrome

Approximately +0.18 SMD; +2 to +5 mg/dL. Not consistently significant across trials. Limited RCT data with HDL as primary outcome.

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Ubiquinol (CoQ10)RaisesGrade A

Ubiquinol (CoQ10) raises HDL-C.

Meta-analysis or review · 6 studies linked

Studied in: Metabolic syndrome

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Omega-3RaisesGrade A

Omega-3 raises HDL-C.

Small effect · 0 studies linked

This result is graded, but no study is linked to it yet. Treat it as unconfirmed.

Studied in: General adult, Dyslipidemia

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CollagenRaisesGrade B

Collagen raises HDL-C.

Human trials · 5 studies linked

Studied in: Adult mixed sex, Cardiometabolic risk

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NACRaisesGrade B

NAC raises HDL-C.

Human trials · Small effect · 4 studies linked

Studied in: PCOS, Female, Adult

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TaurineRaisesGrade B

Taurine raises HDL-C.

Meta-analysis or review · 4 studies linked

Studied in: Hyperlipidemia, Metabolic syndrome, Adults

33 corpus studies. HDL effect typically smaller and less consistent than LDL/TC effects.

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IronRaisesGrade B

Iron raises HDL-C.

Human trials · 3 studies linked

Studied in: General

No established effect of iron supplementation on HDL-C.

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AshwagandhaRaisesGrade C

Ashwagandha raises HDL-C.

Human trials · 2 studies linked

Studied in: Stressed adults, Type2 diabetes

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Studied, no change8

Studies looked and found no meaningful change. That is a result, not missing data.

ResveratrolNo changeGrade A

Studies of Resveratrol found no change in HDL-C.

Meta-analysis or review · Negligible effect · 37 studies linked

Studied in: Mixed, Adults, Dyslipidemia, Normoglycemic

MAs generally show no significant HDL effect. zhou_2023 confirms null. See hdl_cholesterol entry. Merged.

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Vitamin ENo changeGrade A

Studies of Vitamin E found no change in HDL-C.

Meta-analysis or review · 32 studies linked

Studied in: NASH, Nondiabetic, Adult, Us multi center

DUPLICATE: Two hdl_c entries — lowercase (grade B from corey_2015/ahmadi_2014) and uppercase HDL_C (grade B from MAs). Should be merged. Combined = grade A.

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MelatoninNo changeGrade A

Studies of Melatonin found no change in HDL-C.

Meta-analysis or review · Negligible effect · 9 studies linked

Studied in: Adults, Metabolic syndrome

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NAD+No changeGrade A

Studies of NAD+ found no change in HDL-C.

Human trials · 4 studies linked

Studied in: Adults overweight obese, European finnish, Healthy, Overweight

Evidence_type corrected from rct_single to rct_multiple.

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Vitamin D3No changeGrade A

Studies of Vitamin D3 found no change in HDL-C.

Meta-analysis or review · Negligible effect · 2 studies linked

Studied in: Deficient baseline, Adults, Mixed population

No significant effect on HDL in pooled RCT analysis (Wang 2012, n=1346). Long-duration subgroup (>12 months) shows possible HDL decrease — insufficient evidence to confirm; flag for monitoring in long-term supplementation protocols.

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CreatineNo changeGrade B

Studies of Creatine found no change in HDL-C.

2 studies linked

Studied in: General adult, Athlete, Healthy adults, Athletes

HDL-C unchanged; reverse cholesterol transport not affected

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L-theanineNo changeGrade B

Studies of L-theanine found no change in HDL-C.

Human trials · 2 studies linked

Studied in: Elderly japanese, Green tea mixture not pure ltheanine

Same grade inconsistency as fasting_glucose.

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Vitamin K2No changeGrade B

Studies of Vitamin K2 found no change in HDL-C.

Meta-analysis or review · 1 study linked

Studied in: General adult, Healthy, European

Consolidated with HDL_cholesterol entry. Hartley 2015: null. 1 study in corpus.

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Mixed results1

Studies disagree, or the direction depends on who was studied.

Vitamin CMixed resultsGrade A

Studies of Vitamin C and HDL-C disagree.

Meta-analysis or review · 10 studies linked

Studied in: Adults, Mixed lipid profiles, Mixed cardiometabolic, Elevated cholesterol at baseline

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Not studied3

No usable human study has measured HDL-C with these. A gap is not a negative result: nobody has looked.

Finnish saunaLion's manePQQ

Commission research on a gap →

BThe molecule

Apolipoprotein A-I dimer (C-terminally truncated)

ApoA-I is the main protein of HDL. Two copies curve into the horseshoe that wraps an HDL particle; the last 35 residues are missing from this structure.

Structure: PDB 3R2P · X-ray, 2.2 Å · Mei & Atkinson, J Biol Chem 2011. Rendered from atomic coordinates in Blender; 2,970 atoms, about 13.2 nm across.

Why trials measure it. Trials report it as part of the standard lipid panel, read alongside LDL cholesterol and triglycerides.

About this marker: HDL: The "Good" Cholesterol (MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine).

Evidence states come from published human studies found in PubMed and OpenAlex and read by a model pipeline. "Not studied" means no usable human study was found for this marker, which is a gap, not a negative result. Every result links its studies so you can check it.

Research summary for education. Not medical advice.