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.
Treatments For High Triglyceride Levels
If you have high triglycerides, your doctor’s treatment should include healthy eating and exercise. Avoiding processed and sugary foods is paramount these dietary changes alone can have a tremendous impact on your triglyceride levels. Your doctor may also recommend taking omega 3 fatty acid supplements.
Begin today. Talk to your doctor or other health care provider about exactly what you need to do to start living a healthy lifestyle to lower triglycerides, help prevent a heart attack or stroke, avoid or manage diabetes, and reduce your chances of developing liver disease and pancreatitis.
Prediabetes And High Triglycerides
If insulin resistance is left unchecked, the blood glucose level can build up over time. The doctor may be able to check your blood glucose values by giving you a fasting blood test that determines the cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
If you have high glucose levels but the levels arent high enough to indicate you have type 2 diabetes, you may instead have prediabetes. In such cases, your cholesterol level and triglyceride level may be elevated as well.
Fortunately, prediabetes can be reversed, lowering the levels of triglycerides, cholesterol, and blood glucose levels. Reversing prediabetes means eating a healthy diet high in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, exercising on a regular basis, and taking certain medications to bring down the blood glucose levels. If you dont do this, the odds that you develop type 2 diabetes are increased.
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Why Are High Triglycerides Bad
Very high levels of triglycerides are associated with liver and pancreas problems.
But studies show conflicting results on the role of high triglycerides and the risk of heart disease. Not all experts agree that triglycerides play a significant role in heart problems.
High triglycerides tend to show up along with other problems, like high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, high levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol, and low levels of “good” HDL cholesterol. So itâs hard to know for sure which problems are caused by high triglycerides alone.
For instance, some people have a genetic condition that seems to cause high triglyceride levels. But they donât have an increased risk of heart disease. Still, there is some evidence that high triglycerides, on their own, increase the risk of disease. Other studies show that high triglycerides may only play a minor role when other heart disease risks are taken into account.
With ongoing studies, scientists hope to find out whether drugs that lower triglycerides also reduce the risks of heart disease.
Overall, it’s important to remember that improving diet and lifestyle will lower triglycerides and lower the overall risk of heart and blood vessel problems.
Inflammation Infection And Autoimmunity
In some cases, high triglycerides may be caused by inflammation and infection.
People with infections and chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and psoriasis often have high triglycerides and low HDL. These disease-triggered changes initially serve to dampen inflammation or fight infection, but they increase the risk of heart disease in the long run .
For example, untreated gum disease increases blood triglycerides. People with chronic gum inflammation are continually exposed to bacteria, which disrupt immune and lipid balance in the body .
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How Often The Triglyceride Level Should Be Tested
According to The American Heart Association, individuals over the age of 20 years should get tested for their triglycerides level about every 4 to 6 years. Testing the levels of triglycerides also depends on your health and can be done more often depending on the doctorâs advice. Children between the ages of 9 and 11 should be checked once and children between the ages of 17 and 21 should also check their triglyceride levels at least once between these ages.
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Do Bananas Lower 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 Are Normal Triglyceride Levels
Normal levels of triglycerides are as follows:
- Optimal: Under 90 mg/dL
- Normal: Under 150 mg/dL
- Borderline High: 150 to 200 mg/dL
- High: 200 to 500 mg/dL
- Very High: 500 mg/dL or higher
White people tend to have higher triglyceride levels than Black people. Men tend to have higher triglyceride levels than women.
How Are Triglycerides Different From Cholesterol
Triglycerides and cholesterol are both fatty substances called lipids. But triglycerides are fats cholesterol is not. Cholesterol is a waxy, odorless substance made by the liver. It is used to build cell walls, helps the nervous system and plays an important role in digestion and hormone production.
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What Are Very High Triglycerides
Just as it sounds, having very high triglycerides means that you have too much of this type of fat in your blood. Your doctor may call this condition severe hypertriglyceridemia.
It is detected through a simple blood test called a lipid panel or lipid profile. This test measures your:
- Overall cholesterol
- HDL cholesterol
You will likely be asked to get your blood taken after fastingwhen you havent had any food or drink for eight, and sometimes up to 12 hours. This will show your triglyceride level when your body has cleared any cholesterol from meals youve eaten. A triglyceride level done without fasting can also be very revealing because it often shows that your body is not clearing the cholesterol from food.
Your health care provider will likely use your fasting results to guide treatment, but cases can be very different
Like other types of cholesterol, triglycerides are measured in milligrams per deciliter of blood. There are four categories of triglyceride levels according to the American Heart Association. Someone is diagnosed with very high triglycerides when the amount of triglycerides found in the blood is 500 mg/dL or more under 150 mg/dL is considered normal.
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Rare Causes Of High Triglycerides
Certain medical conditions and states can cause high triglyceride levels, but they are not as common a trigger as some of the better-known causes. These include:
Familial hypertriglyceridemia: A rare genetic disorder that causes high triglyceride levels that exceed 1,000 mg/dL. As the name suggests, this condition runs in families with members having abnormal levels of high-density lipoprotein , low-density lipoprotein , and triglycerides.
Pregnancy: Triglyceride levels rise in expectant mothers and tend to peak during the third trimester. However, after giving birth, most women experience a return to normal levels.
Liver disease: The liver plays an important role in processing fats. If it becomes compromised in some way, such as in the case of fatty liver disease, overproduction and accumulation of fat in liver cells can occur. This leads to excessive amounts of inflammation and even death if no treatment is implemented. Proper liver function can be disrupted by alcoholism, malnutrition, pregnancy, poisoning, diabetes, hypothyroidism, kidney disease, and lupus.
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What Is Ldl Cholesterol
Low density lipoprotein is a type of lipoprotein, which helps in the transportation of cholesterol in our body. This is often referred to as a bad cholesterol type since it can get deposited on blood vessel walls as thick and dense plaques and attracts macrophages which will eventually obstruct the vessel lumen causing Atherosclerosis.
Increased LDL levels markedly increase the risk of coronary artery disease.
Every person who is suspected to have Hypercholesterolemia should get a lipid profile done once in every month, which will reveal a laboratory measurement of LDL cholesterol in the body.
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What Are The Symptoms Of High Triglyceride Levels
High triglycerides do not typically cause any symptoms. They are usually diagnosed by a blood test. Symptoms often appear after the increased triglycerides have caused significant damage. For instance, a person may develop heart disease due to high triglycerides and suffer symptoms like angina , shortness of breath, dizziness, sweating, nausea, and fatigue.
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How Are High Triglycerides Found
A blood test called a lipid panel measures triglycerides and cholesterol. You should have this test after fasting for at least 12 hours.
Adults should get this screening test every five years or sooner. If you have diabetes, a family history of high triglycerides, or other risk factors, you may need screening more often, according to the National Cholesterol Education Program Guidelines 13).
Role Of Platelets In Early And Late Stages Of Atherosclerosis
Platelet glycoprotein Ib , the ligand-binding subunit of the GPIb-V-IX receptor complex is known to interact with several proteins like vWF, P-selectin, Mac-1 and -thrombin . Injections of anti-GPIb antibodies in 10 weeks old ApoE/ mice reduced both platelet transient and firm adhesion to the vascular surface of the common carotid. Genetic depletion of the GPIb subunit leads to severe thrombocytopenia and reduced atherosclerosis progression with smaller lesion area . This reported protective effect could be a consequence of thrombocytopenia since mice with extracytoplasmic GPIb domain genetic deletion develop milder thrombocytopenia and are not protected against atherosclerosis . It indicates that GPIb binding site for vWF, P-selectin, Mac-1 and -thrombin might be dispensable for atherosclerosis development. This is quite surprising since vWF genetic depletion is protective in an animal model of atherosclerosis . Similarly, a role for Mac1/GPIb interaction has been shown in leukocyte recruitment at sites of vascular inflammation . The subunit GPIb has been also investigated in atherosclerosis by using GPIb//ApoE/ mice fed a chow diet for 30 weeks. Despite the moderate thrombocytopenia of those mice, GPIb was found dispensable in atheroprogression .
Table 1. A comprehensive analysis of platelet mechanisms in atheroprogression in mice .
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Cholesterol And Healthy Eating
What we eat has an impact on our cholesterol levels and can help reduce our risk of disease. The Heart Foundation recommends following a heart-healthy eating pattern, which means eating a wide variety of fresh and unprocessed foods and limiting highly processed foods including take away, baked goods, chocolate, chips, lollies and sugary drinks. Not only does this help to maintain a healthy and interesting diet, but it provides essential nutrients to the body.
A heart-healthy eating pattern includes:
- plenty of vegetables, fruit and wholegrains
- a variety of healthy protein-rich foods , legumes , nuts and seeds. Smaller amounts of eggs and lean poultry can also be included in a heart-healthy eating pattern. If choosing red meat, make sure it is lean and limit to one to three times a week
- unflavoured milk, yoghurt and cheese. People with high cholesterol should choose reduced fat varieties
- healthy fats and oils. Choose nuts, seeds, avocados, olives and their oils for cooking
- herbs and spices to flavour foods, instead of adding salt.
This way of eating is also naturally high in fibre, which is good news, because a high intake of dietary fibre can also reduce levels of bad cholesterol in the blood.
Also, be mindful of how much you are eating. Portion sizes have increased over time and many of us are eating more than we need which can increase our cholesterol and risk of heart disease.
Serving size can vary depending on age, gender and specific nutrition needs.
What Regulates The Heart Rate And Blood Pressure
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Why Do I Need This Test
You may need this test as part of a routine checkup. You may also need this test if youre overweight, drink too much alcohol, rarely exercise, or have other conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes.
If you are on cholesterol-lowering medicines, you may have this test to see how well your treatment is working.
Symptoms Of Elevated Triglyceride Levels
Your triglyceride level may be high without having any type of symptoms. If the triglyceride levels are extremely high, it may show up as fatty deposits called xanthoma. These are yellowish deposits of lipids occurring under the skin.
In cases of genetically high triglycerides , the triglyceride levels may be so high that you develop pancreatitis, which is an inflammation of the pancreas. Signs you might have pancreatitis from high triglyceride levels include decreased appetite, fever, nausea and vomiting, and severe pain in the upper part of the abdomen.
Triglyceride levels can be tracked by having a lipid profile checked on a periodic basis. If your triglyceride level is normal, the levels are under 150 mg/dL. If your triglyceride level is borderline high, the levels are 150-199 mg/dL. High triglyceride levels are between 200 and 499 mg/dL and extremely high triglyceride levels mean that the triglyceride levels are in excess of 500 mg/dL.
High triglyceride levels may also mean you have high cholesterol levels as well. The combination of high cholesterol and high triglycerides are more dangerous than just having high triglyceride levels. Only a lipoprotein blood test can tell if you have high triglyceride or high cholesterol levels.
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What Causes Levels To Fluctuate
Triglyceride levels fluctuate naturally in response to many factors, including calorie intake and time of day. Eating a meal can cause an increase in triglycerides, which the body may store to use later when it needs energy.
These fluctuations are typically short-lived, but they are part of the reason why doctors may ask a person to fast before getting a lipid profile blood test.
Some health conditions may increase the risk of higher triglyceride levels. According to the
- hormone medications
- immunosuppressant drugs
Anyone who is uncertain about the side effects of their specific medication should speak with their doctor.
A person can use a few treatments to help lower their triglyceride levels.
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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What You Can Do
Many of the steps you should take to lower triglycerides are the same ones you should take to protect your heart and health overall.
If you’re overweight, shed a few pounds. Get regular aerobic exercise . Limit the saturated fats in meat and dairy products. Watch your alcohol intake, even moderate drinking ramps up triglyceride levels. And diet? High-carb/low-fat eating will increase your triglycerides and lower your HDL.
If you’re taking a statin to lower your LDL, one side benefit may be reduced triglyceride levels. Depending on the dose, statins can lower triglycerides by 20%40%.
The omega-3 fats in fish and capsules are another triglyceride-lowering option. For a very high triglyceride level, your doctor can prescribe a high-dose omega-3 medication.
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Controlling High Triglycerides: Medical Treatment
People with heart disease and high triglycerides may need medication to bring down their levels.
- Fibrates can lower triglycerides. They modestly improve cholesterol levels, too.
- Fish oilwith omega-3 fatty acids can help keep triglycerides under control. Ask your doctor whether you should use prescription fish oil. Omega-3 acids from plant sources like flaxseed may help.
- Niacin can lower triglycerides by up to 50%. It’s available as a non-prescription supplement and as a prescription drug.
Remember that to stay healthy and keep your triglycerides down, you still have to focus on improving your lifestyle.
When you talk to your doctor, discuss all of the medicines, supplements, and vitamins you take. Some common drugs — like beta-blockers, birth control pills, and diuretics — can cause high triglycerides as a side effect. It’s possible that one of them could be causing your problem.
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