Effect On Statins On Lipid And Lipoprotein Levels
The major effect of statins is lowering LDL-C levels. The effect of the various statins at different doses on LDL-C levels is shown in . As can be seen in different statins have varying abilities to lower LDL-C with maximal reductions of approximately 60% seen with rosuvastatin 40mg. Doubling the dose of a statin results in an approximate 6% further decrease in LDL-C levels. The percent reduction in LDL-C levels is similar in patients with high and low starting LDL-C levels but the absolute decrease is greater if the starting LDL-C is high. Because of this profound ability of statins to lower LDL-C levels, treatment with these drugs as monotherapy is often sufficient to lower LDL-C below target levels.
How To Lower Triglycerides
Your doctor will determine if you need treatment to lowering triglycerides by talking with you about your current diet and lifestyle, and evaluating your triglyceride level, your LDL cholesterol level, and your potential risk factors for coronary heart disease.
Here are some of the reasons your doctor might discuss medications to lower triglycerides with you:
- You have metabolic syndrome. This condition includes a combination of abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, and high blood pressure. If you have metabolic syndrome and tried diet and lifestyle changes for three months without success, triglyceride-lowering medications may be needed.
- Previous medication lowered your total cholesterol but not your triglycerides. If your cholesterol is well controlled, but your triglyceride level is still too high, at or above 200 mg/dL, triglyceride-lowering medications may help.
- You have very high triglycerides. If your triglyceride level is at or higher than 500 mg/dL, you may need to start medications to lower triglycerides even before reaching lower cholesterol levels.
What Is High Cholesterol
Cholesterol is made by your liver. Its a waxy substance that your body uses to build cells, among other processes.
Eating fatty foods and oils can cause your liver to make extra cholesterol. It can also come from the meat and dairy products in your diet.
When you have a cholesterol screening, the levels of two types of cholesterol will be reported in your results: LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol.
LDL cholesterol is whats known as bad cholesterol. High LDL can also be linked to high triglycerides, a type of fat in your blood that comes from your diet.
If you have too much LDL cholesterol, it can build up into a hard, waxy substance in your arteries, called plaque. When this happens, your arteries become narrow and less flexible.
High cholesterol is one of the biggest risk factors for cardiovascular conditions such as heart disease and stroke. But while HDL cholesterol is considered good cholesterol, and
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Lowering Triglycerides Without Medication
Unless your triglycerides are extremely high, lifestyle changes are the best place to start. These simple steps can significantly lower triglyceride levels.
- Beware of bad fats. Cutting back on saturated fat and trans fats can lower triglycerides.
- Go for good carbs. Easily digested carbohydrates give triglycerides a definite boost. Eating whole grains and cutting back on soda can help control triglycerides.
- Check your alcohol use. In some people, alcohol dramatically boosts triglycerides. The only way to know if this is true for you is to avoid alcohol for a few weeks and have your triglycerides tested again.
- Go fish. Omega-3 fats in salmon, tuna, sardines, and other fatty fish can lower triglycerides. Having fish twice a week is fine.
- Aim for a healthy weight. If you are overweight, losing just 5% to 10% of your weight can help drive down triglycerides.
- Get moving. Exercise lowers triglycerides and boosts heart-healthy HDL cholesterol.
- Stop smoking. It isnt good for triglyceride levels or for anything else.
About the Author
Gregory Curfman, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Former Editor-in-Chief, Harvard Health Publishing
Supplements And Medications To Lower Triglycerides
Some diabetes medications, Actos , for example, will also lower triglycerides, says Shurmur. However, this drug may cause or worsen congestive heart failure, warns the FDA.
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Coriander Seed Powder Can Be Beneficial
Coriander seeds are a popular traditional treatment for high triglycerides.
According to a 2008 study published in the Journal of Environmental Biology, feeding coriander seeds to animals resulted in a significant decrease in their triglyceride and cholesterol levels. This was traced back to the significant hypolipidemic action of coriander seeds on the metabolism of lipids.
How to consume:
What Are The Symptoms Of High Levels
High cholesterol does not have any noticeable symptoms, so very many people are living their lives oblivious to the fact that they have too-high cholesterol and are at risk of heart disease and stroke.
This is why it is often referred to as the silent killer.
Egg yolks have the highest cholesterol of any food.
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/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.
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.
Luis Alvarez / Getty Images
What Are The Causes Of High Cholesterol
The tendency toward high cholesterol appears to be genetic although diet also influences cholesterol levels. Other factors that can influence cholesterol levels include being overweight and being physically inactive. The older you get, the more likely your cholesterol levels are to rise. Before menopause, women tend to have lower cholesterol levels than men of the same age, but after menopause, womens LDL levels often increase.
There is considerable controversy over whether high cholesterol is in itself a cause of heart disease , or a symptom of an inflammatory condition that is the true cause of heart disease . According to the latter theory, chronically high levels of inflammation creates small lesions on arterial walls the body sends LDL to heal those lesions, but it ultimately accumulates and oxidizes, causing blockages. From this perspective, the best lifestyle approach to lower cardiovascular disease risk is to lower inflammation in the body rather than LDL levels.
The two theories are not mutually exclusive they may both be true to some extent.
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Who Should Use Fibrates
Your healthcare provider may prescribe fibrates to reduce your triglycerides and/or raise your HDL cholesterol levels. Although triglycerides are associated with cardiovascular disease, it has not been consistently established that taking fibrates reduces the risk of a heart attack or stroke. Lowering triglycerides using fibrate medications is a key step in reducing the risk for pancreatitis.
Triglycerides: Why They Matter And How To Lower Them
Triglycerides are the most common type of fat in foods and in your body. When you eat foods containing fat and oil, such as butter, French fries and chocolate chip cookies, the body takes the fat and stores it in your body as triglycerides. You want your triglycerides to be below 150 mg/dL. Triglycerides are high-risk above 200 mg/dL.
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How Long Does It Take To Lower Triglycerides
Depending on whats causing your high triglyceride levels, you may be able to lower them in just a few days. A night out drinking or eating foods high in sugar can cause a spike in your triglyceride levels. Limiting alcohol and sugar intake can bring your levels back to normal within a few days.
If you have consistently high triglycerides, it may take a few months for them to return to a healthy range. How fast they lower depends on the lifestyle changes, diet, and medications youre taking.
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 â 239 mg/dL is considered borderline
- Over 240 mg/dL is considered high
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How Do Fibrate Drugs Work
Fibrates reduce the amount of very-low-density lipoprotein your liver makes. VLDL particles carry triglycerides to other parts of your body. By limiting how much VLDL your body makes, these medicines lower your triglyceride levels.
Fibrate drugs also increase the amount of apolipoproteins A-I and A-II your liver makes. These two proteins help create HDL cholesterol. Creating more of these proteins increases your HDL cholesterol levels.
Instead Eat Healthy Fats
Not all fats are created equal when it comes to triglycerides. Certain healthy fats actually make the body work better, according to the American Heart Association, so you do want to include them in your diet. Replacing saturated fat with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat has been shown to help reduce TG levels, Palinski-Wade says, adding that the connection is quite direct: Research has shown that every percent you decrease your intake of trans fatsreplacing them with monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fatlowers your triglyceride levels by the same amount. Eating avocados and cooking with olive oil instead of butter are great ways to add these healthy fats to your diet. Olive oil also contains another fatty acid that can reduce your heart attack risk by 48 percent.
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Focus On Fruits Vegetables Whole Grains And Beans
Our typical American diet is now abbreviated as SAD by scientists nationwide because its full of foods that do sad things to both hearts and waistlines. Hyperprocessed foods like potato chips and French fries. Sugar-saturated drinks. And fatty, artery-clogging meats and full-fat dairy foods like cheese.
We dont have to become complete vegetarians to get our cholesterol levels into healthy ranges, studies on the Pritikin Program have found, but clearly, the more vegetables, fruits, potatoes, and other naturally-fiber-rich plant foods we eat, the healthier well be.
Plant foods high in soluble fiber are especially beneficial in lowering total and LDL bad cholesterol levels. Good sources include beans , yams, oats , barley, and berries.
For simple tips on bringing more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans into your life, here is a 5-day sample healthy meal plan from the doctors and dietitians at Pritikin Longevity Center.
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Why Lowering High Triglyceride Levels Matters
The national guidelines for fasting triglyceride levels in healthy adults are:
- Normal: Under 150 milligrams per deciliter .
- Borderline High: 151200 mg/dl.
- High: 201499 mg/dl.
- Very High: 500 mg/dl or higher.
When your triglyceride levels are high and you have a high amount of LDL cholesterol or a low amount of HDL cholesterol, all of this could contribute to the development of fatty buildups within the artery walls of the heart. The buildup can increase your risk of heart attack and stroke.
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Weed Out Trans Fats And Saturated Fats
There is so much evidence implicating trans fats in heart disease. The first thing we do when Im counseling patients is to go over all the sources of trans fats in their diet and make substitutions, McManus says.
Trans fats are created by adding hydrogen to a liquid fat to help it solidify. Food manufacturers started using trans fats because they extend the shelf life of packaged baked goods. Fast-food purveyors took to them because they can be reused again and again. Although public pressure has forced the food industry to phase out trans fats, they havent disappeared entirely. To avoid eating them inadvertently, scrutinize the labels on food packages before you put them in your shopping cart. If you see partially hydrogenated in the list of ingredients, pass that product by. If trans fats arent banned from restaurants in your area, ask if the cook uses partially hydrogenated oil before you order.
Saturated fats and dietary cholesterol, which are derived primarily from animal products, arent exactly heart-healthy, but its all right to eat them in small amounts. McManus says that because eggs are such a good source of nutrients, its okay to have as many as four yolks a week and whites as often as you like. She also gives a nod to red meat, shrimp, lobster, high-fat cheeses, butter, and organ meatsbut only to small portions of each one every couple of weeks or so.
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How To Reduce Triglycerides: Exercise Exercise Exercise
If youre carrying around a little extra weight, get moving! To get in shape and lower your triglycerides at the same time, start a regular workout routine.
The goal should be 30 minutes of exercise, five days a week. When you exercise, be sure to break a sweat and get your heart pumping. With this routine you can cut your triglycerides by 20% to 30%.
New to exercise? Wondering where to start?
- Sign up for a dance class.
- Find time each day for a brisk walk.
- Lift light-weight dumbbells
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How Can I Lower My Cholesterol With Medicines
As well as making lifestyle changes, some people will need to take cholesterol-lowering medicines to reduce their risk of heart and blood vessel disease, known as cardiovascular disease. The medicines most commonly used are called statins.
Your doctor will consider all your risk factors for cardiovascular disease before suggesting medication not just your cholesterol and lipid results. If youve already had a heart attack or stroke, taking statins can substantially lower your risk of having another one.
Statins work by slowing the amount of cholesterol made in your liver. In response, your liver uses the cholesterol already in your blood to make up for the deficit. This lowers the level of LDL cholesterol in your blood.
If statins alone do not lower your cholesterol enough, you may need additional medicines.
What does it mean when you have high triglycerides? How do you lower your triglycerides?
If youve been told that you have high triglycerides a type of fat found in the bloodstream youre not alone. One report suggests that nearly one-third of Americans have elevated triglycerides.1
Higher than normal triglyceride levels are a problem because theyre associated with increased risk of metabolic dysfunction, heart attacks, and strokes.2
Although many people focus on the risks associated with high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high triglycerides may be even more predictive of future heart events.3
Heres what you need to know about reducing your triglycerides.
Hyperlipidemia High Cholesterol High Triglycerides How To Treat
The treatment of hyperlipidemia, high cholesterol, and high triglyceride is mainly divided into two parts: drug treatment and adjustment of daily eating habits.
If the necessity of medication is not reached, most doctors will generally recommend starting with non-medication.
Improve by adjusting the patients life and eating habits. If the blood lipids do not return to normal after 3-6 months, medical treatment should be performed.
The general treatment drugs are Statins, cholic acid-binding resin, nicotinic acid, and fibrate derivatives four kinds, to achieve control to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease caused by arteriosclerosis.
The treatment of drugs still needs to be discussed with the doctor, so in the next paragraph, I will mainly focus on the second focus of treatment, which is also the root of the daily diet and life maintenance.
Note. Taking the relevant therapeutic drugs requires taking the medicine according to the instructions of the doctor. All kinds of drugs have side effects.
You should discuss with the doctor and design a prescription label according to your own situation. Do not judge the consumption by yourself.
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