HDL Cholesterol

When low

Supplements:

• Omega-3 (EPA/DHA) -- 2-3g/day (Krill Oil or Fish Oil)
• Citrus Bergamot -- 500mg 2x/day, or 150mg/day of standardised bergamot flavonoids. Raised HDL-C by 8% over 6 months alongside a 20% LDL reduction and a 38-67% fall in small dense LDL subfractions (Toth et al., 2016). The HDL effect is real but modest: bergamot earns its place here for the whole lipid panel rather than for HDL alone
• Niacin (immediate release) -- 1-2g/day in divided doses; raises HDL by 15-35% at 1.5-2g; flushing is the main tolerability issue (take 325mg aspirin 30 min before, gradual titration, avoid hot drinks/alcohol with dose); sustained-release forms carry higher hepatotoxicity risk; monitor glucose as niacin can worsen insulin resistance in GH/MK-677 users

Lifestyle:

• Regular aerobic exercise 30-45min 3-5x/week (most effective intervention)
• Increase healthy fats (olive oil, avocado, fatty fish)
• Avoid oral AAS if HDL is persistently below 0.8 mmol/L

Pharmacological / compound-choice options (the highest-leverage interventions):

• Discontinue all oral AAS -- single most effective HDL intervention; Stanozolol/Anavar/Oxymetholone/Dianabol suppress HDL by 30-70%; injectable-only cycles preserve HDL substantially better
• Switch from oral to injectable equivalents -- injectable Winstrol and injectable Primobolan still suppress HDL but less aggressively than the oral versions
• Rosuvastatin -- 5-10mg/day; primarily lowers LDL/ApoB but reduces overall atherogenic risk even when HDL stays low; JUPITER evidence supports use despite minimal direct HDL impact; physician-supervised
• Ezetimibe -- 10mg/day; minimal direct effect on HDL but still cardioprotective via LDL/ApoB reduction; useful adjunct when the clinical goal is overall lipid risk reduction rather than HDL number alone
• Pemafibrate -- 0.2mg 2x/day where available; selective PPAR-alpha modulator; raises HDL modestly with minimal LDL impact and a cleaner safety profile than fenofibrate
• Cabergoline -- 0.25mg 2x/week has shown modest HDL elevation in some studies (mechanism: lowering prolactin reduces atherogenic profile); not first-line but worth considering when prolactin is also elevated
• All prescription items require physician oversight and baseline liver/CK panel

How far orals actually crash HDL, and the recovery timeline once you stop: How to protect your cholesterol on steroids.

Where the rest of your on-cycle stack fits, and which supplements are worth the money: every supplement mapped to the marker it should move.