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How Can I Lower Triglyceride Levels

What Are Triglycerides And What Raises Them

How To Lower Your Triglycerides Fast And Naturally

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.

Top Foods To Help Lower Triglyceride Levels

3 ).

Diet plays a major role in the production of triglycerides in your body. Certain foods may even help lower your blood levels.

Here are 8 top foods that may help lower triglyceride levels.

5 ).

Daily intakes of at least 25 grams of soy protein were most effective at lowering these fats in the blood .

Soybeans, edamame, tofu, and tempeh are excellent sources of isoflavones, a health-promoting compound linked to reduced triglycerides, weight management, and improved menopause symptoms .

Fermented soy products like natto and tempeh have a higher nutritional value than unfermented soy. When used to replace sources of animal protein, they have a potent triglyceride-lowering effect .

Establish A Regular Meal Pattern

Insulin resistance is another factor that can contribute to high blood triglycerides.

After you eat a meal, the cells in your pancreas send a signal to release insulin into the bloodstream. Insulin is then responsible for transporting sugar to your cells to be used for energy.

If you have too much insulin in your blood, your body can become resistant to it, making it difficult for your body to use insulin effectively. This can lead to a buildup of both sugar and triglycerides in the blood.

Fortunately, setting a regular eating pattern can help prevent insulin resistance and high triglycerides. For instance, research shows that not eating breakfast can lead to decreased insulin sensitivity .

An American Heart Association statement suggested that irregular eating patterns seemed less likely to achieve healthy cardiometabolic levels. They recommended intentional eating at regular times .

However, the evidence is mixed when it comes to meal frequency.

A 2013 study demonstrated that eating three meals per day significantly decreased triglycerides compared with eating six meals per day (

36 ).

Regardless of how many meals youre eating daily, eating regular meals can improve insulin sensitivity and lower blood triglyceride levels.

Summary

While studies are mixed on how meal frequency affects blood triglyceride levels, research suggests that sticking to a regular meal pattern can decrease many heart disease risk factors and prevent insulin resistance.

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Weight Loss And Triglyceride Levels

Weight loss is an important tool to get to a healthy triglyceride level. Because triglycerides are essentially fat stores, reducing the total amount of fat in the body will result in a lower triglyceride level in blood tests.

Even modest weight loss of 5% to 10% of total body weight helps to lower your triglyceride level. This means that going from a body weight of 300 lb to between 270 lb and 285 lb makes a big difference and lowers your risk of heart disease, stroke, and pancreatitis.

Increase Your Physical Activity

Pin on CHOLESTEROL

Boosting your activity can lower your triglycerides up to 40 percent. To reduce triglycerides, be physically active at least 30 minutes on 5 or more days each week. Remember, triglycerides arenât all bad. They provide efficient energy storage, transport certain vitamins and provide insulation. Whatâs important is to keep them under control!

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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

Eat More Protein & Unsaturated Fats

Compared to a diet high in carbs, diets rich in protein and unsaturated fat reduced triglycerides by about 10 mg/dL in a study of 164 people with high blood pressure .

Diets high in monounsaturated fats, found in olive oil and avocados, decreased triglyceride levels better than a high-carb diet over 7-weeks in 85 people with an increased risk of heart disease. An olive-oil-rich diet also decreased the buildup of triglycerides in the liver .

A diet high in monounsaturated fats and omega-3s decreased triglyceride levels in 17 men with moderately increased triglycerides .

Also Check: How To Lower Cholesterol Levels For Blood Test

/11include More Fibre In Your Diet

We all know fibre helps us in losing weight by keeping us fuller for longer and stopping us from binge eating.

Some common sources of fibre include nuts, cereals and legumes. Having more fibre decreases the absorption of fat and sugar in the small intestine, which helps lower the triglycerides levels in the blood.

Possible New Treatment For High Triglycerides

5 Ways to Lower Your Triglyceride Levels

In the report in The New England Journal of Medicine, an international team of researchers describe a new therapy for high triglycerides. It involves a weekly injection of antisense oligonucleotides , pieces of DNA that short-circuit the livers production of triglycerides. The new report shows that ASOs can reduce triglyceride levels by as much as 70%.

Keep in mind that this was a phase 2 trial, which is designed to test whether a drug does what it is supposed to do . Larger, longer-term studies will be needed to see whether ASOs actually reduce the risk of heart disease, and what sorts of side effects they cause.

Many experimental medications that sparkle in early testing never become FDA-approved drugs. We wont know for several years whether ASOs will become available for individuals with high triglycerides.

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Health Conditions Related To Triglycerides And Cholesterol

High blood lipid levels may increase your risk for plaques to develop in your arteries or thicken the walls of your arteries .

Other health conditions related to high triglycerides or cholesterol include:

  • High blood sugar levels or diabetes
  • Metabolic syndromea cluster of conditions that increase your risk for heart disease
  • Genetic conditions

Are Bananas Good For High Triglycerides

The researchers also say that people with high triglycerides should focus on eating more vegetables fruits that are lower in fructose such as cantaloupe, grapefruit, strawberries, bananas, peaches high-fiber whole grains and especially omega-3 fatty acids, which are found primarily in fatty fish such as salmon,

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What Foods Can Help Lower Triglycerides

Now that you know which foods to avoid, what foods can you add into your diet that can help support healthy triglyceride levels? “Foods to emphasize are high fiber vegetables with lower sugar content, such as cruciferous vegetables,” Archibald says. “Including legumes, canned or cooked from their dried versions, will add both fiber and satiety to the plate.”

Adding healthy omega-3 fats can be helpful as well. “Among fats, seek out foods rich in omega-3 fats, which not only act as natural anti-inflammatories in the body but can also prevent the production of triglycerides and cholesterol in the liver,” says Archibald.

Here are 20 foods that can lower triglycerides.

How Are High Triglycerides Treated

How to Lower Your Triglycerides

The best ways to lower triglycerides include losing weight, eating fewer calories, and exercising regularly . Diet changes that may help include avoiding fats and sugar and refined foods . Also avoid alcohol and limit fats found in meats high in saturated fat, egg yolks, and whole milk products. Trans fats, found in fried foods and commercial baked products, are unhealthy. Eat healthy monounsaturated fatsolive, peanut, and canola oils. Eat fish high in omega-3 fatty acids instead of red meat.

If diet changes and exercise dont work, medicines such as nicotinic acid , fibrates , and omega-3 fatty acids can help lower triglycerides. Niacin side effects limit its use. Cholesterol-lowering medications known as statins can also lower triglycerides, but their effect is limited.

Its also important to control diabetes since a high sugar level will also increase triglycerides.

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And Limit Unhealthy Ones

Namely, trans fats or partially hydrogenated oils, which sometimes show up in baked goods, snack foods, fried foods, refrigerated dough , nondairy creamers, and margarines.

Eating these harmful fats can send your triglycerides up in just a few short weeks, not to mention raise your LDL cholesterol and lower your HDL cholesterol.

Limit Sugar Refined Carbohydrates And Too Much Alcohol

Do you have to eat a keto diet to lower triglycerides? Not necessarily. Reducing sugars, refined carbohydrates, and alcohol may be enough to lower your levels.

As we mentioned, any caloric excess can increase triglycerides. However, the most likely sources of extra calories are excess sugar, refined carbs, and alcohol.19

One reason carbs and sugars commonly increase triglycerides may be that carbs and sugars are two of the most commonly overconsumed foods. However, another reason could be that fructose and alcohol are more likely to cause fatty liver, which can raise triglycerides.20

One study reports that simply replacing sugar-sweetened beverages with water reduced triglycerides.21

And another reports that decreasing alcohol consumption lowered fasting triglycerides.22

Other factors, such as baseline obesity and insulin resistance, may make it more likely that eating carbs would cause an individuals triglycerides to rise.23

If youre overweight or have insulin resistance, the evidence shows its important to reduce carbs. However, the data suggests that most people with high triglycerides even people with normal weight would benefit from reducing sugar, refined carbs, and alcohol.

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How Long Does It Take To Reduce Cholesterol

Cholesterol drops over time, not suddenly, after a few days of healthier living. There is no set period in which cholesterol is guaranteed to drop.

Cholesterol-lowering drugs usually produce a change in LDL within 6 to 8 weeks. It is possible for lifestyle changes to change cholesterol levels within weeks. However, it may take longer,

  • Total cholesterol: less than 200 milligrams per deciliter
  • LDL bad cholesterol: less than 100 mg/dL
  • HDL good cholesterol: higher than 60 mg/dL
  • Triglycerides: less than 150 mg/dL

According to an article in the journal Circulation, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association recommend using statins to lower cholesterol in people with cholesterol higher outside of these levels.

However, they also recommend doctors consider a persons cholesterol levels and overall risk of cardiovascular disease before prescribing a cholesterol-lowering medication.

The AHA recommends that people with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease get high-intensity statin therapy maximally tolerated statin therapy to lower LDL by at least 50%.

The AHA also recommends high-intensity statin therapy for individuals with severe primary hypercholesterolemia .

There are a number of habit changes a person can incorporate into their daily routines in order to gradually and consistently lower their LDL levels over time. Including:

What Can You Do To Lower High Triglyceride Levels

High Triglycerides? How to Lower Triglycerides (NATURALLY!)

Because your body can get triglycerides from the food you eat, it makes sense that changing your diet can help if youre concerned with your triglyceride levels. In general, according to Ash, its important to reduce your intake of refined flour, processed and packaged foods that contain trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, and excess carbs and sugars that are bad news for your health.

One key nutrient to keep in mind is fat. According to Ash, switching out the types of fat you eat can make a huge difference. Trans fats and polyunsaturated fats, like the fat in canola oil, are going to be the biggest offenders because they burden the liver, which is going to manufacture more triglycerides in order to make more LDL. So what were eating and how were supporting the liver is really whats going to matter when it comes to triglycerides, she says.

That said, fat is only one factor to consider when it comes to food. Specific to food, fat itself is often not the culprit, says registered dietitian Amanda Archibald, founder of The Genomic Kitchen. Excess calories from alcohol or starchy/sugary foods are often more complicit in producing high triglycerides.

If your doctor has told you your triglyceride levels are on the high side, its worth asking them what foods to avoid and what lifestyle changes could help. Chances are, youll want to exercise more and go easy on trans fats and simple carbs.

Also Check: Are Triglycerides And Cholesterol The Same Thing

Eat Foods That Lower Triglycerides

If you’re wondering how to lower triglycerides through dietary changes, try the following foods.

Oats

You may be happy to learn that your morning oatmeal can naturally lower triglycerides, as long as it’s whole-grain, rather than instant. Researchers discovered that eating high-fiber oats lowered triglycerides more than wheat cereals. Scientists have linked fiber with a lowered risk of cardiovascular diseases, and oats are an excellent source of dietary fiber. You can also try steel-cut oats.

Beans

Not only are beans and other legumes a great source of fiber and nutrients, but they also lower triglycerides. Adults who ate two servings of beans to one serving of white rice had lower triglycerides, lower blood pressure, and lower fasting glucose levels compared to those who ate more rice than beans. Several other studies have found that beans lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

Avocados

Whether you prefer to add them on top of whole-grain toast or serve them in guacamole, avocados are a natural defense against high triglycerides. Eating extra avocados for seven days lowered both triglyceride and cholesterol levels in one study of adults. Avocados are chock full of healthy oils, including monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat, and some researchers have suggested all people replace unhealthy saturated fat with avocados.

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.

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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

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When Do Raised Triglycerides Occur

Beyond Cholesterol: 14 Ways to Lower Triglycerides

The level of triglycerides in the bloodstream rises following a meal. The amount of fat consumed will determine the rise in triglyceride levels. In order to avoid rises in circulating triglyceride levels, it is advisable to spread intake of dietary fat throughout the day. Triglycerides can be raised as a secondary effect of conditions such as poorly controlled diabetes or obesity. Controlling these can often result in lowering of triglyceride levels. Obesity exacerbates all forms of high triglycerides.

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How To Lower Cholesterol And Triglycerides

Triglycerides are a type of lipid, or fat, your body produces to store extra calories and provide energy. Cholesterol is another lipid that circulates in your blood. Your body uses cholesterol to build cells and produce hormones.

Both triglycerides and cholesterol are essential for your health but having levels that are too high puts your health at risk. Living a healthy lifestyle helps to keep your cholesterol and triglyceride levels within a normal range.

This article covers how triglycerides and cholesterol affect your health and how you can lower them naturally.

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