What Are Triglycerides And How To Lower Them

Learn Your Triglyceride Range: Go To The Doctor

Its hard to know how much you need to do to reduce triglycerides if you dont know what triglyceride range you fall in. Fortunately, finding out is easy. Here’s how triglyceride test numbers stack up:

• Normal – Less than 150 mg/dL
• Borderline – 150-199 mg/dL
• High – 200-499 mg/dL
• Very high – 500mg/dL and up

Simply having your blood drawn each year can help you keep track of your triglycerides, and it will help you know when they are too high. At the same time, your doctor may also look for related health problems, including

• kidney disease,

Mechanisms Accounting For The Niacin Induced Lipid Effects

TRIGLYCERIDES

Early studies demonstrated that niacin inhibited the release of free fatty acids from cultured adipocytes and decreased circulating free fatty acid levels . The ability of niacin to inhibit adipose tissue lipolysis is mediated by the activation of GPR109A , a G protein-coupled receptor that is highly expressed in adipose tissue . It was initially thought that the decrease in plasma TGs induced by niacin therapy was due to niacin inhibiting lipolysis in adipose tissue resulting in a decrease in the transport of fatty acids to the liver leading to the decreased availability of fatty acids for hepatic TG synthesis. However, studies have shown that while niacin acutely decreases plasma free fatty acid levels this inhibition is not sustained . Additionally, studies in mice lacking GPR109A have shown that niacin does not inhibit lipolysis but still decreases plasma TG and LDL-C levels . Moreover, studies in humans using GPR109A agonists lowered plasma free fatty acid levels but did not cause the expected effects on plasma TGs and LDL-C . Thus, the effects of niacin on adipose tissue lipolysis are no longer thought to mediate the niacin induced decrease in plasma TG levels.

LOW DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN

The decrease in plasma LDL-C with niacin therapy is thought to be secondary to a reduction in VLDL and LDL formation and secretion by the liver .

HIGH DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN

LIPOPROTEIN

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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Reduction Of Or Total Removal Of Trans Fat From Meals

Trans fatty acids are the end products of the solidification of vegetable oils by the addition of hydrogen molecules. The two types of trans-fat are natural and industrial trans-fat.

Natural trans fat is found in animal products like milk and they occur in small quantities. Artificial trans-fat, however, are produced industrially when hydrogen is added to liquid oils to solidify them.

Trans fat adds more flavor and texture to processed foods. It is also used to fry foods and meats.

Trans fat has been known to raise the LDL levels and lower the HDL levels in the blood. The presence of trans fat in the blood increases the possibility of a stroke or cardiovascular disease.

Tips For Losing Weight

Weight loss isn’t easy, but there are effective strategies to help you get a leg up. According to Medical News Today, studies have shown intermittent fasting to be an effective weight management strategy. Unlike calorie counting, you restrict the time you eat instead of what you eat, leading to lower feelings of restriction.

You can also pair time-restricted eating with a healthy diet for best results. For example, you might fast for 16 hours and eat all your meals in an 8-hour window on a more advanced regimen, you might fast every other day, eating one day and up to 30% of your body’s energy needs the next – it’s up to you. Many apps can help with fasting or general meal tracking research even shows that consistently tracking what you eat can greatly improve the odds of weight loss.

Additionally, you can practice mindful eating tips like sitting down while eating, avoiding distractions like your smartphone or T.V., and eating slowly to give your brain more time to recognize the sensation of fullness. Lastly, a higher emphasis on protein in the diet has shown to increase satiety and improve weight loss, because protein causes the body to release appetite-reducing hormones like GLP-1 and peptide YY following consumption . A 2005 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that people reduced their calorie intake by a whopping 440 calories per day without trying by increasing protein from 15% to 30% of their diet.

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Eat Less To Lose Weight

High triglycerides come from regularly eating more calories than your body burns, so eating less overall is one of the best ways to start reining them in.

How much less, exactly? You may want to cut back by 500 to 1,000 calories a day, depending on how many calories youre consuming. Thats enough to help you lose weight, which is key.

Dropping 5 to 10 percent of your body weight is enough to reduce your triglycerides significantly. But definitely get the OK from your doctor before making any major changes to your diet.

How Are Triglycerides Connected To Cholesterol

Cholesterol is another type of fatty substance. It has many uses in your body, including producing hormones, building cells and helping you digest food.

There are good and bad types of cholesterol. ‘Bad’ cholesterol is known as low-density lipoprotein or LDL. It can stick to the sides of your blood vessels and block them. ‘Good’ cholesterol is known as high-density lipoprotein or HDL. It transports the bad cholesterol away from your blood vessels to your liver, which gets rid of it.

If you have a high level of triglycerides together with a high LDL level or a low HDL level, you have a higher risk of fat building up and blocking your blood vessels. This increases your risk of having a heart attack or a stroke.

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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

Q: What Are Triglycerides

A: Triglycerides are a type of fatthat comes from the foods we eat. Many foods in the standard American diet,including butter and oils, are in the form of triglycerides already. But thebyproducts of other foods, including excess alcohol or sugar, convert totriglycerides and are then stored in the body’s fatcells.

Your provider checks your triglyceridelevels using a test called a lipid panel. Both triglycerides and cholesterolare lipids. Although triglycerides are fats, cholesterol is not. Cholesterol isa waxy substance made by the body that cannot dissolve into blood on its own.To move through the body, it is packaged with triglycerides and a type ofprotein called lipoprotein.

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How Does C1: 0 Work

C15:0 naturally binds to receptors found throughout our bodies, called PPARs , that help to regulate our metabolism, including our cholesterol and glucose homeostasis. This helps to explain why daily supplementation helps to promote healthy cholesterol and triglyceride homeostasis.*

In addition, your cells will get some much-needed attention.

• Stronger cell membranes. As we get older, our cell membranes become flimsy and weak. C15:0 is a sturdy fatty acid that integrates into cell membranes to fortify and protect them.*

• Mitochondrial function. Aging cells have sluggish mitochondriathey dont carry out cellular functions like they once did. C15:0 improves mitochondrial function by 45 percent, so your cells can function better.*

• Mood, appetite, and sleep improvements. By binding to PPARs that regulate functions like mood, appetite, and sleep, most users notice an improvement in these areas within six weeks.*

Exercising To Lower Triglycerides

Summary

While nutrition probably has the most significant impact on triglycerides, exercise can also lower your levels. But not all forms of exercise produce equally promising results.

When it comes to lowering triglycerides, higher intensity exercise is best.34

There are different ways to define high-intensity exercise. The most common is achieving greater than 85% of your maximum heart rate. However, a more useful definition may be a level of exercise where you can no longer have a conversation or a level you can maintain for only a few minutes.

Resistance training, involving a moderate amount of weight and high repetitions, can also help with triglyceride levels. Lifting extra heavy weight fewer times produces less of a significant effect.35

Does this mean lower intensity exercise doesnt provide health benefits? Of course not. As we detail in our in-depth exercise guide, physical activity of any kind has multiple health benefits.

Even if you cant get to the point where exercise impacts your triglycerides, dont let that discourage you. Carry on to maintain your muscles, strengthen your bones, and build your fitness one step at a time.

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How Do I Lower My Triglyceride Levels

Having high triglyceride levels doesnt have to be a permanent state. Of all the things in the lipid profile, triglycerides are the most easily modifiable and can respond within days to dietary changes and physical activity. The most effective way of lowering triglyceride levels is with a little TLC: therapeutic lifestyle changes.

Increased Risk Of Pancreatitis

Severely elevated triglycerides is the third most common risk factor for pancreatitis but causes only around 4% of all cases. Gallstones and alcoholism are much more common, comprising approximately 70% of all cases.56

Individuals with triglycerides above 1,000 mg/dL have a 5% chance of developing pancreatitis, and that increases to 10 to 20% for levels above 2,000 mg/dL . For reference, the general population risk of pancreatitis is just 0.5%.57

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Medications May Be Needed For High Triglyceride Levels

Sometimes, healthy eating and regular exercise cant lower high triglyceride levels. This may be the case, for example, if you have familial hypertriglyceridemia or if you already have heart disease. Your doctor may prescribe medication such as fibrates or nicotinic acids. Drugs to help lower high blood cholesterol may also be prescribed, if necessary.Suggestions for managing high triglyceride levels with medication include:

• Always take prescription medications exactly as instructed.
• See your doctor if you are having side effects from the medication. Known medication side effects may include indigestion, diarrhoea, fever or muscle problems.
• Dont assume that medications will somehow overcome the hazards of an unhealthy lifestyle. A healthy diet, regular exercise and maintaining an appropriate weight for your height are the most important management strategies for high triglycerides.

Which Medicines Can Lower Triglycerides

For some people, good habits may not be enough. Medication might be needed. The decision for you and your doctor can be complicated because other health conditions are usually involved. Several types of medicine can improve levels. They include:

• High doses of omega-3s are needed to lower triglycerides and should be taken only under a doctor’s care. Epanova, Lovaza, and Vascepa are prescription forms of omega-3s.

Your doctor may also prescribe a class of drugs called âstatinsâ that lower cholesterol. Examples include: atorvastatin , rosuvastatin , and simvastatin .

You may feel side effects from these drugs. Be sure to talk it over with your doctor or pharmacist.

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Hacks For Reducing Sugar Intake

Sugar is added to many foods, so reducing your intake may be more challenging than you think. Fortunately, the American Heart Association has some great tips. These include throwing out your sugar canister, recognizing the different forms of sugar, and understanding that they are all the same, even if they’re marketed as “healthy” .

You can also try adding fruit to your oatmeal in place of sugar for natural sweetness, swapping sparkling water or plain water for juice or soda, or flavoring your recipes with extracts such as almond, vanilla, or lemon in place of sugar. Non-nutritive sweeteners like allulose or stevia can also be used, but you should be careful with this, as some research shows these may increase sugar cravings later .

You should also read food labels, as many foods not thought of as particularly sweet commonly have hidden added sugars in them. Most food labels will show “Total Sugars” vs. “Incl. Added Sugars” on the label, so you can see how much sugar was added to a food compared to the total amount of sugar in a product. For example, a box of the popular “healthy” cereal Honey Nut Cheerios has 12 grams of “total sugars.” Right below it, you see it says “Incl. Added Sugars 12g.” This means that all of the sugar in Honey Nut Cheerios has been added.

What Are Triglycerides And Why Are They Important

“Triglycerides are a type of blood lipid and they’re made up of free fatty acids. They’re stored in your body fat, but you’ll also find them in your blood,” says nutritionist Jessica Ash, CNC, HHC, FDN-P and founder of Jessica Ash Wellness. “And because your liver makes them, they’re also found in your liver and then your tissues. Our body gets triglycerides either from the food that you eat or from the body it manufactures triglycerides in the liver.”

“It’s important to know that triglycerides, like cholesterol, are normally protective . But triglycerides are used for energy, whereas cholesterol is used for steroid hormone production,” Ash explains. “And our muscles are specifically what like to uptake fatty acids or triglycerides. So they’re fatty acids that the body usually uses for energy.”

Your body needs energy from food to function. But excess energy, especially from sources like simple carbohydrates, can be stored as triglycerides, which can create issues if your triglyceride levels are elevated above the normal range. According to the Mayo Clinic, if your triglycerides are over 150 mg/dL, then you’re at a greater risk for developing heart disease.

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Conditions That Raise Triglycerides

Certain health conditions can cause high triglycerides, so let your doctor know your medical history or any unusual symptoms you may have. This could shed some light on your levels, says Joel Kahn, MD, clinical professor of medicine at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit and associate professor of medicine at Oakland University Beaumont School of Medicine in Rochester, Michigan. For example, he says conditions such as prediabetes, diabetes, liver disease, and thyroid disease could be responsible for high triglycerides. But lifestyle factors have a huge impact on your triglycerides as well, so before your doctor prescribes medication, you may want to try to lower them naturally. Heres how to do it.

High Triglyceride Risk Factors

If you’re keeping an eye on your triglyceride levels, it’s helpful to know some of the common risk factors for hypertriglyceridemia.

Although food is the primary source of triglycerides, the liver also makes triglycerides, which may explain variation between people who eat a similar diet but have different triglyceride levels . Like cholesterol, genes can also play a factor in this, such as in the inherited condition known as familial hypertriglyceridemia that makes you more prone to having heightened triglyceride levels, according to WebMD.

Some of the high-risk groups that may want to pay particular attention to their triglyceride levels include adults with a history of heart attack or stroke, adults with diabetes, and anyone at risk for heart attack or stroke due to high cholesterol or other risk factors such as family history .

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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

Diet For High Triglycerides

To quickly lower your high triglyceride levels with diet you should implement the following dietary changes:

Eliminate refined sugars and added sugars. These sugars should be limited to a maximum of 5-10% of your total daily calories. The less, the better.

Reduce refined carbohydrates. Choose whole grains over refined grains. Carbs should represent around 50% of your daily calories.

Reduce saturated fat. Choose healthy polyunsaturated and unsaturated fats over saturated and trans fats. Fats should represent 25-35% of your total daily calories.

Choose plant-based over animal-based product. Plant based foods are naturally low in fats or sugars and high in fibers.

Increase daily fiber intake. Fibers increase the feeling of satiation making you eat less moreover fiber-rich products are generally low in sugars and fats.

Eliminate alcohol. Alcohol consumption, with or without a meal, increases serum levels of triglycerides.

Studies have shown that consumption of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can reduce the blood triglyceride levels.

Monounsaturated fats are found in nuts, olive oil and avocado.

Polyunsaturated fats are found in vegetable oils and fatty fish.

Studies have found that intake of saturated fats is associated with increased blood triglyceride levels while consumption of polyunsaturated fat is linked with lower blood triglyceride levels.

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