You may have heard that some kinds of wild fish -- salmon, for instance -- are heart-healthy. While salmon is definitely good for you and can benefit your heart, it doesn't do so through changing your HDL levels. However, eating certain wild fish instead of saturated fat or processed fat can positively impact HDL.
Wild Fish
Certain fish are particularly healthy because of the kinds of fats they contain. Specifically, cold water fish -- salmon and tuna, for instance -- contain large quantities of unsaturated fatty acids called omega 3 fatty acids. These have anti-inflammatory effects, and can reduce your risk of asthma, arthritis, and some forms of heart disease. While some cold water fish aren't farmed -- tuna, for instance -- others are. Farmed fish may not have as much of the omega 3 fatty acids, however, due to the fact that they're often fed a diet that doesn't include as much of the omega-3 containing algae as they eat in the wild.
HDL
HDL is commonly called "good" cholesterol, but it's not actually a kind of cholesterol at all. Instead, HDL is a cholesterol transporter particle. It carries excess cholesterol from your body cells back to your liver for excretion, and because of this, it's heart-healthy. The American Heart Association recommends that your HDL levels be as high as possible. You should have HDL above 50 mg/dL if you're female, and above 40 mg/dL if you're male. Values above 60 mg/dL are particularly healthy.
Wild Fish and HDL
Eating wild fish -- especially cold water fish -- won't change your HDL. In fact, there aren't any foods that have been proved to increase your HDL, but there are definitely foods that can lower it. If you choose to eat wild fish instead of eating a highly processed fast food meal, for instance, you'll be avoiding large quantities of saturated and trans fat, which lower your HDL, so the wild fish has an indirect but positive effect.
Concerns
One concern with consumption of wild fish is that some fish can accumulate large quantities of mercury, which is a potent neurotoxin. Neurotoxins are chemicals that can affect the function of your brain and nervous system, and mercury in particular tends to build up over the years as you're exposed to it. Salmon has low levels of mercury, but tuna can have more. The Natural Resources Defense Council notes that shark and swordfish are very high in mercury.
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