An 8 week study looking into the effects of ephedrine and caffeine on plasma HDL-cholesterol revealed a positive contribution to a "good" cholesterol profile.

Thirty-two women were randomly assigned to either 20 mg ephedrine plus 200 mg caffeine or a placebo three times per day while following an energy restricted diet. During the 8 week study total cholesterol concentration declined from baseline in both groups. This was expected. What was surprising was while the HDL-cholesterol concentration decreased at week 4 and week 8 in the placebo group it remained unchanged in the ephedrine-caffeine group. No effect of dieting was seen on plasma triglyceride concentration in the placebo group but a decrease was observed in the ephedrine-caffeine group at week 8. 

This study suggests that ephedrine-caffeine combinations abolish the decline in HDL-cholesterol during active weight loss due to the beta-agonistic properties of ephedrine.