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How Can I Bring My Triglycerides Down

Consider Cutting Back On Carbs

How To Lower Your Triglycerides Fast And Naturally

You dont have to go full keto. But some research suggests that lower carb diets are tied to healthier triglyceride levels.

How low should you go? In a 2006 study, people who consumed about a quarter of their calories from carbs lowered their triglycerides more than those who got more than half their calories from carbs.

Eat A Mediterranean Diet

If youre looking for an overall diet plan that will lower triglycerides, the Mediterranean style may be the way to go it is, after all, one of the best diets for heart health. It encompasses all of the TG-lowering foods weve talked about. A diet that promotes eating more fatty fish, healthy plant-based oils, and nuts and seeds like the Mediterranean diet may be beneficial to reducing TG levels and improving heart health, Palinski-Wade says.

Finding Out Your Triglycerides Levels

Triglycerides are measured with a simple blood test. Triglyceride levels should be measured when you have a cholesterol test as they can also contribute to your risk of developing heart disease, and other disease of the heart and blood vessels. The triglyceride test measures the triglycerides carried in chylomicrons and VLDL cholesterol. National guidelines in the UK no longer recommend a fasting blood test .

What should your triglyceride levels be?

HEART UK experts state that we should aim for a non-fasting triglyceride level below 2.3mmol/L.

If your doctor has asked you to fast for a test then your triglyceride level should be below 1.7mmol/L. This fasting test number is lower because only the triglycerides made by the liver and carried in the VLDL cholesterol will be measured not the triglycerides you get from food. As you have not eaten, there will be no chylomicrons present in your blood.

Also Check: Which Is Good Cholesterol And Its Function

Pancreatitis Is A Unique Risk Of High Triglyceride Levels

You may not have heard of it before, but pancreatitis is the name for extreme inflammation of the pancreas, which is one of your vital organs. Pancreatitis is a serious disease with a high rate of hospitalization and sometimes even life-threatening complications.

When the pancreas becomes inflamed, the symptoms typically include nausea, vomiting, and severe upper abdominal pain. The two main causes are gallstones and heavy alcohol use though, many times, the exact cause cannot be identified. High triglyceride levels can be a trigger in up to 7% of acute episodes of pancreatitis. Other causes include:

  • Some medications

Foods That Can Help Lower Triglycerides

How could the triglycerides level in blood be reduced?

The way you prepare food can also have an impact on triglycerides. One approach to lower triglycerides naturally is choosing healthy fats, like extra virgin olive oil, instead of saturated fats, like butter and lard, when its time to fry or saute something to eat.

Adding foods rich in omega 3 fatty acids, like salmon, flax seeds, and chia seeds, can also help. The American Heart Association currently recommends at least 1 gram of omega-3 fatty acids per day.

Also Check: What Causes My Cholesterol To Go Up

Fats: Choose The Right Ones

The body needs fats to function correctly, but some fats are more healthful than others. Choosing healthful fats may help reduce triglyceride levels.

Solid fats come from meat, full-fat dairy products, and some tropical oils, such as coconut and palm oil. These foods contain trans fats and saturated fats.

Trans fats and saturated fats raise triglyceride levels, so people should try to replace them wherever possible.

Unsaturated fats, especially polyunsaturated fats , can help lower triglyceride levels. Avocados and olive oil contain monounsaturated fats, also a healthful choice.

Omega-3 fats are present in cod liver oil, flaxseeds, and cold-water fish, such as salmon and sardines. People can add PUFAs to their diet by eating these foods.

Establish A Sleep Schedule

Earlier I mentioned how high triglycerides are associated with a sluggish thyroid . This is because a lack of thyroid hormone causes lipids to hang out in the blood for longer periods of time.

One way to improve thyroid function, triglycerides levels, and energy levels at the same time is by prioritizing sleep. Make sure you are sleeping at around the same time every night and getting enough sleep .

If you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, turn off all lights and electronics at-least 30 minutes before bed time and meditate. By doing this, you will increase melatonin and decrease stress levels, making it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep throughout the night. Follow the same meditation and sleep schedule every week to wake up feeling more refreshed and healthier each morning.

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Limit Your Alcohol Intake

While you may want to sip on a glass of wine after a long day, go easy: Drinking too much alcohol is one of the unhealthy habits that are worse for you than you thought. Alcohol can raise your triglyceride levels while also contributing to high blood pressure, obesity, and increased type 2 diabetes risk, according to the AHA. Alcohol is a source of empty calories and sugarwhen this excess energy goes unused, it can begin to collect and build up as triglycerides in the blood, explains Palinski-Wade. Some suggests moderate alcohol intake can raise TG levels by 50 percent or more. The AHA recommends that men have no more than two drinks per day while women keep it to one drink daily. But if you are looking to lower TG levels, refraining from alcohol may be your best option, Palinski-Wade says.

Limit Your Sugar Intake

Lowering Triglycerides – Mayo Clinic

Added sugar is a big part of many peoples diets.

While the American Heart Association recommends consuming no more than 100150 calories of added sugar per day, one study found that the average American eats about 308 calories of added sugar daily .

Added sugar is commonly found in sweets, soft drinks, and fruit juice.

Extra sugar in your diet may be turned into triglycerides, which can lead to an increase in blood triglyceride levels, along with other heart disease risk factors.

A 2020 review that included data on 6,730 people found that those who consumed sugar-sweetened beverages regularly were over 50% more likely to have high triglycerides, compared with those who did not drink them regularly .

Another study found that consuming high amounts of added sugar is also associated with higher blood triglyceride levels in children .

Fortunately, several studies have shown that low carb diets can lead to a decrease in blood triglyceride levels .

Even a simple change such as replacing sugar-sweetened beverages with water could decrease triglycerides in some people .

Summary

Minimizing added sugar in your diet from sugary beverages and sweets can reduce your blood triglyceride levels.

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What Are High Triglycerides

Triglycerides are a type of fat-like substance in the blood that the body uses for energy. Some triglycerides are needed but too much of them can put people at higher risk for heart attack, stroke, inflammation of the pancreas, and other health problems.

What Are Symptoms of High Triglycerides?

High triglycerides also can run in families.

Consider The Bigger Picture

Certain health issues can affect your triglyceride level. Type 2 diabetes, for instance, is a risk factor for high triglycerides. So are thyroid issues and kidney diseases like uremia.

If youre concerned about your triglycerides, it makes sense to see your doctor for a head-to-toe checkup to see if any underlying causes could potentially be at play.

Read Also: What Does Low Good Cholesterol Mean

What Are Triglycerides And What Raises Them

Everyone consumes triglycerides as part of their diet. They circulate in your bloodstream, similar to cholesterol, and pair with proteins to form lipoproteins.

These lipoproteins carry triglycerides to your tissues, where they are either used for energy straight away or stored as fat for later.

Triglyceride levels can be measured by a simple blood test. According to the American Heart Association , fasting levels those taken when you havent eaten should be below 150 mg/dl and post-meal levels below 200 mg/dl .

Many lifestyle factors can raise your fasting triglyceride levels, such as a diet high in refined carbohydrates and saturated fats, a lack of physical activity, drinking too much alcohol, and smoking. Pregnancy and menopause can also have an effect.

Postprandial lipaemia is the scientific name for the rise in triglycerides that happens after eating. The peak in triglyceride levels is around 45 hours after eating, and the level should return to baseline around 8 hours after eating.

Measuring triglyceride levels within a 4-hour period after a meal is a strong predictor of your risk of heart disease, even if your fasting triglycerides are within a healthy range.

That means post-meal triglycerides can act as an early warning system for your risk of heart disease.

Your blood fat control indicates how well you can clear triglycerides from your blood in other words, how well youre able to handle high-fat foods.

Medications Can Lower Ldl And Triglycerides

How could the triglycerides level in blood be reduced?

To get cholesterol and triglycerides into the target zone, many people with diabetes need to add medications to their healthy eating and exercise plans. Reducing elevated LDL cholesterol is typically the top priority. To achieve the target goals, many people need to take a medication in the statin category.

The American Diabetes Association recommends that statin therapy be added for people who have:

  • a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and whose LDL cholesterol doesn’t hit the target of 100 mg/dl or less with healthy lifestyle change.
  • cardiovascular disease and who don’t reach the LDL cholesterol target of 70 mg/dl or less.

Statin medications are most effective at lowering LDL cholesterol. All medications should be prescribed and monitored by a health care provider.

Common statins include:

Other medications that lower both LDL cholesterol and triglycerides:

  • Prescription-strength niacin

Other medications prescribed to lower LDL cholesterol:

  • Bile acid sequestrants, such as Questran or Colestid
  • Welchol , a bile acid sequestrant that can also lower blood glucose

Other medications prescribed to lower triglycerides:

  • Prescription-strength fish-oil pills

Other medications to lower cholesterol and blood pressure:

Medications that have been found to increase triglycerides:

  • Birth-control pills
  • Tamoxifen, a breast cancer drug

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Why Do You Have High Triglycerides

However, one big problem arises if we live in westernized societies there is an over abundance of food at all time. If you are reading this right now, you probably live in an area where many different varieties of food are always available. In this kind of food environment, our emotional and instinctual desires override all logical sense, so most of us eat more calories and carbohydrates than we need.

In response to this influx in calories, the cells become stuffed with so much energy that they reject the signal to take more energy in that they receive from insulin . This is otherwise known as insulin resistance, and this causes a cascade of hormonal changes that increase blood sugar and triglyceride levels.

On top of that, carbohydrate consumption stimulates hepatic lipogenesis independent of insulin signaling.

What all of this means is that eating excess calories increases your chances of having high triglycerides levels and eating excess carbohydrates increases triglyceride levels, especially if those carbohydrates are coming from fructose and other processed sugars.

Hold on. What about the fat?

We are talking about triglycerides a type of fat. How could I talk about calories and carbohydrates and neglect to mention fat as a contributor to high triglyceride levels as well? Well, there is a good reason for that.

Increase Your Intake Of Unsaturated Fats

Studies show that monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can reduce blood triglyceride levels, especially when theyre replacing carbs in your diet .

Monounsaturated fats are found in foods like olive oil, nuts, and avocados. Polyunsaturated fats are present in vegetable oils and fatty fish, as well as nuts and seeds such as walnuts, flaxseeds, and chia seeds.

A 2019 review of 27 studies reported that while olive oil consumption does decrease triglycerides levels, it does so significantly less than other types of plant oil .

One older study analyzed the diets of 452 adults in a specific population of Indigenous people in Alaska over the previous 24 hours.

It found that saturated fat intake was associated with increased blood triglycerides, while polyunsaturated fat intake was associated with lower triglyceride levels .

To maximize the triglyceride-lowering benefits of unsaturated fats, pick a heart-healthy fat like olive oil and use it to replace other types of fat in your diet, such as trans fats or highly processed vegetable oils .

Summary

Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can decrease blood triglyceride levels, especially when theyre consumed in place of other fats.

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What Are The Best Foods To Eat To Lower Triglycerides

  • What Are the Best Foods to Eat to Lower Triglycerides? Center
  • Triglycerides are a kind of fat that travels in the blood. You may get some triglycerides from food, and some may be made by your body. Like cholesterol, triglycerides are necessary for life, but if theyre present at high levels, they can be bad for your health.

    If you have high triglycerides, your cholesterol levels may be high too. This combination raises your risk of heart disease. Experts arent sure if high triglycerides alone are bad for your heart, but some studies suggest they are.

    If your triglyceride levels are very high, you may also be at risk of harming your pancreas. Changes in lifestyle can lower triglycerides, and eating triglyceride-friendly meals and snacks could help too.

    Read Also: Where Does Cholesterol Synthesis Occur

    You Are Drinking Too Much Alcohol

    High Triglycerides? How to Lower Triglycerides (NATURALLY!)

    While some research studies suggest that drinking alcohol, specifically red wine, may provide some health benefits, drinking alcohol excessively causes more harm than good. Alcohol has calories, and adding sweetened beverages and mixers to alcohol, like cola or syrup, can increase the calories even more. Alcohol is processed in the liver and, as with food, any excess calories consumed are stored as fat. Over time, these extra calories can also raise your triglyceride levels. Drinking too much can also put you at risk for unnecessary weight gain, heart and liver diseases, and more.

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    Risk Factors For High Triglycerides

    Research shows that triglyceride levels predict cardiovascular disease, a principal cause of morbidity and mortality in Western society. People with high triglycerides may be at significant risk for cardiovascular disease even if their LDL cholesterol levels are at goal.

    A 2010 study conducted at Harvard Medical School evaluated the relative contributions of triglyceride and HDL cholesterol in the risk of coronary heart disease after LDL cholesterol levels were reduced. The study, involving 170 cases and 175 controls, suggests that high triglycerides and low HDL cholesterol levels were associated with coronary heart disease even in patients with lower LDL cholesterol levels. The odds of coronary heart disease increased by approximately 20 percent per 23 milligrams per deciliter increase in triglycerides.

    Having high triglycerides also makes you more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. Its not that high triglycerides actually causes diabetes, but it shows that the body isnt turning food into energy properly. Normally, the body makes insulin, which escorts glucose into the cells where its used for energy. The insulin allows the body to use triglycerides for energy, but when someone is insulin-resistant, the cells wont let insulin or glucose in, thereby causing both glucose and triglycerides to build up in the blood.

    Conventional Treatment for High Triglycerides

    Statins

    Fibrates

    What Is The Best Triglyceride Lowering Diet Low

    Lets start by comparing two ends of the dietary spectrum Low-carb versus low-fat.

    A recent meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials evaluated the effects that low-carb and low-fat diets had on triglyceride levels with conclusive results. Researchers found greater reductions in triglyceride levels on the low-carb diet.

    In another study by Bonow and Eckel, the two scientists concluded that low-carb diets produced a more robust triglyceride-lowering effect than low-fat diets, even if there was a similar magnitude of weight loss after one year.

    These studies confirm what we found above. Eat more carbohydrates and less fat, and youll increase your triglyceride levels. Eat fewer carbs and more fat, and the opposite will occur. In fact, researchers found that for every 5% decrease in total fat, triglyceride level was predicted to increase by 6% and HDL cholesterol to decrease by 2.2%.

    However, there could be other variables at play in this case. When you reduce fat consumption, youll be more likely to eat processed carbohydrates, which limit fat burning and increase fat production. So, high triglycerides levels only have to do with increased processed sugar consumption, right? Not quite.

    However, there is another diet that heralded more than the low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet for its health benefits. Could this diet be the perfect balance of carbs and fats? Or is the low-carbohydrate diet always better?

    Read Also: Food To Lower Triglycerides And Ldl

    Are Your Triglycerides On The Rise

    Triglycerides are substances made up of three chains of fat joined together which transport and store fat in our body. High levels of triglycerides in our blood can damage the blood vessels and pancreas. And if they coexist with high cholesterol, which they usually do, you are at a higher risk of getting clogged arteries, heart attack or stroke, or acute pancreatitis. Learn ways to lower triglyceride levels in your body. Image Courtesy: Getty& nbsp

    Eat Your Biggest Meals Earlier In The Day

    How could the triglycerides level in blood be reduced?

    To manage blood fat levels, it may be beneficial for you to eat your biggest meals earlier in the day and reserve smaller meals for later.

    A study involving shift workers found that those who ate larger meals later in the day had a higher risk of heart disease, and one of the potential links was higher post-meal triglyceride levels.

    Read Also: Is There Medication For High Triglycerides

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