Diets High In Calories Carbs And Fats
Triglyceride levels increase with a positive energy-intake balance . In other words, when you eat more than your body needs, the surplus is transformed into fat, including triglycerides. Its easier to overeat when your diet is high in calories and contains lots of carbs and saturated fats .
Low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets are among the most common causes of high triglycerides. But wait we said that high-fat diets are bad, so doesnt that mean a low-fat diet should be beneficial? Not quite .
Saturated, unhealthy fats are bad. But your body needs healthy fats such as those found in olive oil and fish oil to keep your triglyceride levels normal and to maintain your overall health. If you dont get enough dietary fats, your body will revert to transforming the sugars you consume into fats .
This goes against the popular but unfounded belief that your body wont store fat as long as you dont eat fats. In truth, high-carbohydrate diets can be much worse than high-fat diets for your triglyceride levels. Many scientists advocate that high-carb, low-fat diets likely also contributed to the obesity epidemic in America over the past few decades .
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What Are Risk Factors For High Triglycerides
Factors that may raise triglyceride levels include:
- Excessive alcohol use.
- American Academy of Family Physicians. High Cholesterol. Accessed 11/182/2021.
- American Heart Association. Cholesterol. Accessed 11/18/2021.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Getting Your Cholesterol Checked. Accessed 11/18/2021.
- Hormone Health Network. Triglycerides. Accessed 11/18/2021.
- MedlinePlus. Triglycerides Test. Accessed 11/18/2021.
- Merck Manual Consumer Version. Overview of Cholesterol and Lipid Fats. Accessed 11/18/2021.
- National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. High Blood Triglycerides. Accessed 11/18/2021.
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Watch Out For The Rest Of Your Health
Even if youre careful about controlling both your blood sugar and your blood cholesterol, diabetes can affect other parts of the body over time. That means its important to stay on top of all facets of your health as you go.
- Your eyes. Both high cholesterol and diabetes can affect your eye health, so be sure to see your eye doctor every year for a checkup.
- Your feet. Diabetes can affect the nerves in your feet, making them less sensitive. Check your feet regularly for any blisters, sores, or swelling, and make sure that any wounds heal as theyre supposed to. If they dont, check with your doctor.
- Your teeth. There is some evidence that diabetes can increase risk of gum infections. See your dentist regularly and practice careful oral care.
- Your immune system. As we age, our immune system gradually weakens. Other conditions like diabetes can weaken it even more, so its important to get your vaccinations as you need them. Get your flu shot each year, ask about the shingles vaccine after you turn 60, and ask about the pneumonia shot after you turn 65. The
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Mismanaged Type 2 Diabetes
One of the most common chronic illnesses in the United States is type 2 diabetes. The CDC estimates that 37.3 million Americans have it, and as many as 96 million are pre-diabetic. Studies have shown that high triglyceride levels have links to poor blood glucose control. If you have diabetes and donât correctly manage it, you may find your triglyceride levels climbing, potentially worsening your diabetes. So, controlling your triglyceride levels may help you handle type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes Prevention Programs For Pre
Diabetes Prevention Programs have popped up all around the country. These programs are geared toward achieving weight loss, nutritional, and activity goals in order to prevent Type 2 diabetes later on. The Centers for Disease Control has a model of Diabetes Prevention Programs , and organizations such as the YMCA and others have started to bring these programs to communities. Some insurers have hopped on board with providing these programs, and scholarships are also available in some areas. Check with your individual insurance carrier for benefits that might include these programs, and with local programs providing DPP for scholarship opportunities. On top of decreasing your chances of getting Type 2 diabetes, you will be learning healthy lifestyle changes, including a heart healthy diet, which will also help to get your cholesterol numbers where they need to be.
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Causes Of High Triglycerides
There are many causes of high triglyceride levels. People with certain health conditions or risk factors are more likely to have higher triglyceride levels.
For example, elevated triglyceride levels are common in people with metabolic syndrome. This group of disorders increases your risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. The syndrome can also cause high blood sugar, high blood pressure, low HDL , and extra belly fat.
People who have type 2 diabetes may have health concerns related to the condition that can affect their triglyceride levels.
Normal Cholesterol With High Triglycerides What Is That
When measuring total cholesterol levels, low-density lipoprotein , high-density lipoprotein , and triglycerides are used in the measurement.
For adults, standard cholesterol levels are:
- Less than 200 mg/dL is desirable
- Between 200 239 mg/dL is considered borderline
- Over 240 mg/dL is considered high
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Diabetes + High Triglycerides = High Risk For Heart Disease
Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce insulin, a hormone the body needs to get glucose from the bloodstream into the cells of the body. Glucose is a simple sugar used for energy which is created by the bodyspecifically the pancreasby breaking down the sugars and starches that are consumed.
Triglycerides are a type of fat in the blood that is used for energy in between meals, created from extra calories. If more calories are consumed than are burned on regular basis, an excess of triglycerides may be stored, causing hypertriglyceridemia .
According to the Mayo Clinic, high triglycerides are often a symptom of obesity and metabolic syndrome and a sign of poorly controlled type 2 diabetes, hypothyroidism, liver or kidney disease, or rare genetic conditions. They can also be a side effect of taking beta blockers, birth control pills, diuretics, or steroids.
Having high triglycerides does not cause diabetes. However, having them increases the likelihood of developing diabetes. And both diabetes and high triglycerides increase the risk of heart disease which can lead to heart attack or stroke, so having both compound that risk.
While diabetes has several warning signs and symptoms, high triglycerides usually do not. Thats why its important to have them checked as part of a cholesterol test or lipid panel blood test that requires fasting. Per the Mayo Clinic results are categorized as follows:
Controlling High Triglycerides: Medical Treatment
People with heart disease and high triglycerides may medication to bring down their levels. Fibrates can lower triglycerides. They modestly cholesterol levels, too. Fish oil with omega fatty acids can help keep triglycerides under control. Ask your doctor whether you should use fish oil. Omega acids from plant sources like flaxseed may help. Niacin can lower triglycerides by up 50 percentage . Its available as non prescription supplement and as prescription drug. Statins are standard drug for unhealthy cholesterol levels to reduce bad cholesterol levels and reduce your risk of heart disease. They also lower triglycerides. Pcsk9 Inhibitors are another class of medications that may be used addition to statins or by themselves. They have been found prevent heart attacks and strokes. They also lower cholesterol levels. Some doctors recommend fibrates, fish oil, or niacin help bring down triglyceride levels. Remember that to stay healthy and your triglycerides down, you still have to focus on improving your lifestyle. When you talk to your doctor, discuss all of medicines, supplements, and vitamins you take. Some common drugs like beta blockers, birth control pills, and diuretics can cause high triglycerides as side effect. Its possible that one of them be causing your problem.
* Please keep in mind that all text is machine-generated, we do not bear any responsibility, and you should always get advice from professionals before taking any actions.
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Causes Of High Triglycerides + Normal Levels
Biljana Novkovic, PhDJonathan Ritter, PharmD, PhD Puya Yazdi, MDBiljana Novkovic, PhD
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Criteria For Inclusion Exclusion And Outcome
Women were not included, as the database contains an insufficient number of incident cases of diabetes to facilitate meaningful analyses. Included are apparently healthy men aged 2645 years, with fasting triglyceride levels < 300 mg/dl at their initial visit. Of 15,165 men who had at least two visits, the following were excluded because they were referred for nutritional/pharmacological intervention: 227 men with diabetes and 17 men with coronary heart disease at baseline and 686 men with triglyceride levels of 300 mg/dl . An additional 282 men were excluded because they received chronic medications.
Two analyses are presented. Analysis 1 determined the association between triglyceride values at enrollment and incident diabetes during 10 years of follow-up. Analysis 2 evaluated the effect of change in fasting triglyceride level between two measurements: time 1 at enrollment and time 2 obtained 5 years later. In this analysis, the time 2 value became the baseline measurement , and incident diabetes was assessed in the subsequent 5.2 years of follow-up. For analysis 1, 13,953 men were included, and the predictive value of time 1 triglyceride measurement for incident diabetes was assessed. For analysis 2, an additional 413 men were excluded: 363 did not have triglyceride results at time 2, and in 38 and 12 men diabetes or coronary heart disease was diagnosed, respectively, between time 1 and time 2. Therefore, analysis 2 included 13,540 men.
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What Causes High Triglyceride Levels
When blood sugar levels rise too high after meals, sugar is converted to a type of fat called triglycerides, so high blood triglyceride levels are usually caused by a high rise in blood sugar after meals and usually mean that a person is already diabetic or pre-diabetic :E1596E1605). High rises in blood sugar after meals cause sugar to stick to the outer membranes of every type of cell in your body and eventually destroy these cells. Sugar can stick to: brain cells, to cause dementia nerve cells, to cause pain or loss of feeling matrix cells of bones, to weaken bones and cause osteoporosis the DNA of cells, which can cause the uncontrolled growth that is cancer the inner lining of arteries, to form plaques plaques that have already formed, causing them to break off, leading to a heart attack or strokeThis is why diabetes has so many devastating side effects.
A Sign Of Metabolic Syndrome
People with metabolic syndrome are several times more likely to have a heart attack or stroke. The risk of eventually developing diabetes is even greater.
A syndrome is, by definition, a group of signs and symptoms that occur together because of an underlying condition. For metabolic syndrome, that group includes abdominal obesity , high blood pressure, high blood sugar, low HDL cholesterol and, yes, levels.
So as doctors have started to take metabolic syndrome more seriously, they’ve also started to pay more attention to triglyceride levels as one of its telltale signs.
Triglycerides go it aloneHDL and triglycerides are metabolically connected and are often inversely related: As triglycerides go up, HDL goes down and vice versa. But that isn’t always so. People can have “isolated” high triglycerides without low HDL levels, and research is now showing that high triglycerides are an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, no matter what the HDL is. |
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Lift A Few Heavy Things
As we age, we naturally lose muscle tone. Thats not good for our overall health, or for our cardiovascular health. You can resist that change by adding some weight training to your weekly schedule.
Researchers in the Diabetes Care study mentioned previously reported that resistance training, or weight training, was an effective way to control cholesterol.
In a 2013 study published in the , researchers found that people who had a regular weight-lifting program had more efficient HDL than those who didnt.
Weight training is beneficial for those with diabetes too. In a 2013 study published in , researchers found that resistance training helped participants build muscle. It also improved overall metabolic health and reduced metabolic risk factors for those with diabetes.
For overall health, its best to combine resistance training with your aerobic exercise. Researchers reported in
Other Causes Of High Triglycerides
High triglyceride levels may have other causes besides diet. For some people, high triglycerides are genetic. While dietary changes may help lower them a bit, you may also want to speak with your doctor about whether you also need to take medication.
Pregnancy can also cause a temporary increase in triglycerides. In women who are genetically predisposed, the increase can sometimes be severe and life-threatening.
Some medications can also raise your triglyceride levels. These include:
- Birth control pills containing estrogen
- Hormone replacement therapy
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Secondary Causes Of Hypertriglyceridemia
Prior to starting pharmacotherapy, it is important to consider and address secondary causes of hypertriglyceridemia. While not an exhaustive list, Table 1 includes several secondary, nongenetic causes of hypertriglyceridemia. Efforts should be made to optimize lifestyle habits and medical conditions as a means of lowering triglycerides, and if possible, culprit medications should be discontinued.
Diabetes And High Triglycerides
If your blood glucose values are high enough to indicate you have diabetes, it is still not too late to take measures to decrease your blood sugar levels and triglyceride levels. It means eating a healthy diet, taking medications for diabetes , and exercising at least 150 minutes per week.
If the diabetes is left unchecked, you can have high triglyceride levels, and the high blood glucose levels may cause injury to the kidneys, eyes, brain, and circulatory system. Your risk of heart disease goes way up when you have diabetes. Heart disease can manifest itself as having a heart attack, stroke, or peripheral vascular disease.
If you think you have diabetes or prediabetes, seek the medical advice of your doctor in order to find out if you have these diseases and get on a treatment plan to lower your blood sugar levels, which will also decrease your triglyceride levels. If the diabetes is not well managed, you can develop problems with your kidneys, your eyes, and your sexual functioning.
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How Can You Lower Your High Triglycerides
You can make diet and lifestyle changes to help lower your levels.
- Lose weight and stay at a healthy weight.
- Limit fats and sugars in your diet.
- Be more active.
You also may need medicine to help lower your triglycerides. But your doctor likely will ask you to try diet and lifestyle changes first.
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Foods That Can Lower Triglycerides
Some studies suggest that essential fatty acids, such as omega-3 fatty acids, can help lower triglyceride levels.
This type of fat is found in:
Fish oil or omega-3 supplements may be a helpful addition to your diet. However, before taking supplements, you should speak with your healthcare provider.
Also make sure to eat plenty of vegetables, which help lower triglycerides in part because they don’t contain a lot of calories, sugars, or bad fats. Certain vegetables like Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and spinach contain an antioxidant called alpha-lipoic acid that may lower triglycerides.
Also, choose foods made with soy, which is a healthy source of protein. Some research suggests that regular soy protein consumption can lower triglycerides.
Adding foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids to your diet may help lower triglyceride levels. If possible, aim to eat wild-caught fatty fish at least twice a week. You should also try to get three to five servings of veggies daily, particularly non-starchy ones.
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Causes And Symptoms Of High Triglycerides
The most common cause of high triglycerides is uncontrolled diabetes. Being overweight or obese, eating a lot of carbohydrates or sugar, consuming high amounts of alcohol, having hypothyroidism, kidney disease, certain inherited lipid disorders, and being on estrogen therapy for menopause symptom management can raise your triglyceride levels, too. High triglycerides can also be a symptom of a metabolic disorder, which increases your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.
Generally, high triglycerides dont present any symptoms, but if they are caused by a genetic disorder, you may develop fatty deposits beneath the skin.