What Is The Best Medicine To Lower 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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Ways To Reduce Elevated Triglycerides

: Simple sugars are the primary ingredient of triglycerides and hence excess intake of sweets or drinks can raise triglycerides. Eliminate intake of food items loaded with sugars like cookies, pastries, sweet desserts, and fruit juices.

: Drinking alcohol raises triglyceride levels. For people who are sensitive, a small amount of alcohol can trigger it.

Reduce intake of refined carbohydrate-containing foods: Intake of refined cereals like white rice, bread, pasta made from white flour, or cornflakes can significantly raise triglycerides in sensitive individuals. Instead choose whole grains such as multigrain chapatti, and other grains such as quinoa, barley and millet.

Choose foods rich in omega 3 fatty acids, the “good” fats! Omega 3 fatty acids have been shown to significantly reduce the elevated triglycerides level. Hence include foods high in omega-3 fatty acids such fatty fish , flax seeds, flaxseed oil, Almonds and legumes. Checkout 25 foods and 7 days diet to lower triglycerides.

Maintain a healthy weight: You may be surprised to discover that a modest weight loss of 5-6 kg can reduce your triglycerides, cholesterol level, and decrease your risk of heart disease. Eat a healthy diet to lose weight and prevent lifestyle diseases like diabetes, CVD, etc.

Eat more plant foods! Vegetable proteins such as beans, peas, nuts and lentils are excellent ways to improve your health and will have a direct effect on lowering your triglycerides and cholesterol.

Best Medication For High Triglycerides

Amanda Kerry

Triglycerides are the types of fat in the blood, which can increase the chances of having cardiovascular diseases. If you eat too much and take more calories than you need, the body transforms redundant calories into triglycerides.

The level of the triglycerides can be determined with a simple blood test. The blood test will include the cholesterol level as well. The difference between triglycerides and cholesterol is that triglycerides supply the body with energy and cholesterol is responsible for particular hormones and cells.

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How Can Triglyceride Levels Be Lowered

If your triglyceride levels are high, the next step is for your doctor to check for potential causes. Certain medications, thyroid function issues, poorly controlled diabetes, liver or kidney disease can all cause triglyceride levels to be higher than normal.

The first steps in treatment to lower triglyceride levels include eating a healthy diet, achieving and maintaining a healthy weight, and aerobic exercise on a regular basis.

To lower your triglyceride levels, your diet should be:

• low in simple carbohydrates

If you have high triglycerides and low HDL or high LDL levels, you may need to take medication along with making lifestyle changes. If your triglyceride levels are in the very high range you are at risk to develop other medical problems, so you will most likely need to take medication.

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Limit Your Sugar Intake

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 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.

What Qualifies As High Triglycerides

According to MedlinePlus , blood levels less than 150 mg/dL fall under the triglycerides normal range, while anything higherknown as hypertriglyceridemiacan increase risk for heart disease. Elevated triglycerides can also be a very early sign of diabetes, states Kristin Thomas, MD, a board-certified internist and co-founder of Foxhall Medicine in Washington, DC.

Extremely high triglyceridesblood levels over 500 mg/dLmay be due to a genetic disorder and can increase the risk of pancreatitis, along with heart disease, including atherosclerosis , Dr. Thomas, co-author of You Can Prevent A Stroke, explains. It can be seen alone or in association with many other conditions, as well, such as metabolic syndrome, hypothyroidism, fatty liver disease and kidney disease, Dr. Malaney says.

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Cholesterol Medication: Types Benefits And Side Effects

Elevated cholesterol levels affect millions of adults across the United States and Europe. While you may not feel any health effects of high cholesterol at first, over time it can lead to a host of health problems, especially heart disease. Fortunately, this condition is easily managed with diet, lifestyle changes, and medication. Your healthcare provider can help you decide which of the many types of cholesterol medications is right for you.

Fuel Up On Whole Foods

Eating a healthy diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean sources of protein rather than fatty, sugary, and processed foods helps with weight and overall health, along with improving cholesterol levels.

Making all of these dietary changes may seem like a tall order, but adopting even one small change at a time can make a big difference. Once youve mastered one healthy diet tweak, move on to the next. If you need help putting all this advice into action, ask your healthcare provider to recommend a registered dietitian that you can work with to reduce cholesterol levels even more.

There are tons of natural remedies out there for how to lower cholesterol levels, often promising quick results with next to no effort required on your part. But while its true that there are tons of options to keep cholesterol levels in check, it can actually be as simple as swapping out a few foods in your diet for healthier options, switching up your workout routine or adding a supplement or two into the mix.

Ready to get started? Lets take a look at 28 simple methods for how to lower cholesterol and how it can impact your health.

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How Often Should I Have My Cholesterol Tested

Adults should have their blood lipids measured every 5 years, starting at 45 years. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should start lipid blood tests at 35, because on average heart and blood vessel disease such as heart attacks and stroke happen 10 to 20 years earlier in Indigenous people.

All Australians in these age groups are eligible for a regular 20-minute heart health check with their doctor. This checks your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Your doctor can then assess your risk of having a heart attack or stroke in the next 5 years.

Choose Foods That Help Improve Your Ldl And Hdl Levels

Following a healthy eating plan can play a big role in your overall health, including your blood sugar and blood lipid control. What you eat and your cholesterol levels go hand in hand.

Foods that can help lower cholesterol:

Fiber , healthy fats , and plant stanols or sterols have all been shown to help lower cholesterol.

Other ways to improve cholesterol:

Reduce sugar intake: Cut the amount of added sugars you eat. This is especially important for people with high triglycerides. The grams of sugars on the Nutrition Facts label of a food package, however, doesnt tell you if sugars have been added . Instead, look at the ingredients list for items such as sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, molasses, maple syrup, or agave to see if there are added sugars in the product. Natural sugars, such as those found in fruit and dairy products, are also counted as sugars on the Nutrition Facts label. Limit how much sugar you use to sweeten drinks or in recipes.

Limit high-cholesterol foods: People with diabetes should consume no more than 200 milligrams of cholesterol per day, according to the ADA.

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How Quickly Can I Lower My Cholesterol

Your cholesterol levels may lower as quickly as a few weeks to a few months, depending on your treatment plan.

If your levels are very high, your healthcare provider may recommend taking medications at the start of your treatment plan. This may help lower your cholesterol levels more quickly. The sooner you can lower your bad cholesterol levels, the sooner you can lower your risk for plaques to form.

You can also lower your cholesterol through lifestyle and diet changes alone, but it may take three to six months to see results. Talk with your healthcare provider to figure out the best treatment plan for you.

Moderate Hypertriglyceridemia Prevention Of Cardiovascular Disease

In the era of statin therapy, it is uncertain whether lowering TG levels in patients on statin therapy will further reduce cardiovascular events. As discussed in detail in the sections on individual drugs, the studies carried out so far have not shown that adding niacin or fibrates to statin therapy is beneficial with regards to cardiovascular disease. As also discussed, the available studies have major limitations because many of the patients in these outcome studies did not have substantial elevations in TGs and therefore the issue is an open question that requires additional studies. Notably, the REDUCE-IT trial, which tested the effect of high dose EPA in patients with elevated TG levels and the JELIS trial which tested the effect of EPA 1.8 grams per day in patients with high cholesterol levels demonstrated a reduction in cardiovascular events. However, in both of these trials the decrease in cardiovascular events was considerably greater than one would expect based on the reduction in TG levels suggesting that the decrease in cardiovascular events was not solely due to lowering TG levels and that other effects of EPA likely played a role.

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Microscopic Testing Of Feces

Microscopic testing for fats is performed to identify the amount of fat present in feces. Using a microscopic exam, the laboratory professional is able to determine the number and size of fat droplets present in feces, as well as the type of fats present. The types of fats in feces include triglycerides, fatty acids, and fatty acid salts. The presence of fat in the stool is called steatorrhea, a possible sign or symptom of serious malabsorption syndromes and diseases such as celiac sprue and cystic fibrosis. Triglycerides 1-5 Fatty acids 5-15

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A Warm Cup Of Cayenne Pepper Solution

Cayenne pepper, known for adding spicy heat to your foods, also helps lower triglycerides naturally. It contains an alkaloid compound, capsaicin, that helps reduce triglycerides and LDL cholesterol in obese individuals.

• Add a ½ to 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper to 1 cup of hot water. Drink this solution twice daily for a few weeks.
• Another option is to take cayenne supplements. Consult your doctor for the proper dosage and its suitability for your case.

Note:

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How To Lower Triglycerides Fast Without Medications

Unlike many illnesses, much of the treatment centered around how to lower triglycerides actually has a lot to do with lifestyle factors like diet and physical activity. In fact, moderate to slightly high levels of triglycerides may be managed in this way alone, without the use of prescription medications. Since what raises triglycerides in the first place is often the foods that we eat, it is not a wonder that a mere change in ingestibles can provide long term benefits in the form of lower triglycerides levels. And, the long term management of the amounts of these fats circulating in the blood can often be well managed with a diet to lower triglycerides combined with an increase in moderate exercise.

Fats are also best left alone as much as possible for anyone trying to stave off ever rising levels of the manufactured blood fats. As such, fried foods and those that contain trans fat or saturated fat should be eliminated from diets entirely. Not only does this decrease the likelihood that triglycerides will remain on the rise, a low fat diet also contributes to a reduced risk of obesity. Being overweight or obese is a major contributing factor to the increase of triglycerides in the blood, and adhering to a low fat diet can reduce this risk dramatically.

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Effect On Clinical Outcomes

As described above in the description of the effect of volanesorsen on lipid/lipoprotein levels in patients with FCS and hypertriglyceridemia there is suggestive evidence that lowering the very high TG levels with volanesorsen treatment will reduce the risk of pancreatitis and improve the quality of life.

The effect of volanesorsen on cardiovascular disease has not been determined. However, epidemiologic studies have demonstrated that increased Apo C-III levels are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events and coronary artery calcification . Moreover, carriers of rare heterozygous loss-of-function mutations in Apo C-III have reduced TG levels and reduced cardiovascular disease risk . One can speculate that lowering Apo C-III and TG levels with volanesorsen will have beneficial effects on the development of cardiovascular disease.

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Are High Triglycerides A Common Problem

Experts recommend you keep your triglycerides below 150 milligrams per deciliter. About one-quarter of the people in the United States have high triglycerides. These numbers have declined since 2001, probably because more people take statin drugs and fewer people smoke cigarettes.

The U.S. FDAs ban on trans fats in food could be another reason triglyceride levels have dropped among Americans. Trans fats increase the levels of not only LDL cholesterol also called the bad cholesterol but also triglycerides.

Even though trans fats may be banned by the FDA, you should choose unsaturated fats over saturated ones.

How To Cope With Side Effects

What to do about:

• stomach pain try to rest and relax. It can help to eat and drink slowly and have smaller and more frequent meals. Puttinga heat pad or covered hot water bottle on your stomach may also help. If youre in a lot of pain, speak to a pharmacist or doctor.
• diarrhoea drink lots of fluids, such as water or squash, to avoid dehydration. Speak to a pharmacist if you have signs of dehydration such as peeing less than usual or having dark, strong-smelling pee. Do not take any other medicines to treat diarrhoea without speaking to a pharmacist or doctor. Speak to a doctor if diarrhoea lasts for more than a week after you start ezetimibe.
• farting try to not eat foodsthat cause wind . Eat smaller meals, eat and drink slowly, andexercise regularly. There are pharmacy medicines that may also help, such as charcoal tablets or simeticone. Peppermint tea may also help.
• feeling tired try to relax when possible and avoid intense exercise to see if that helps. If these symptoms do not go away after 1 to 2 weeks, ask a pharmacist or doctor for advice.

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Factors That Contribute To High Triglycerides

To assess what kind of treatment might be best for you or if youll need treatment at all your doctor will first look at your blood lipid levels, paying attention to the ratio of triglycerides to total cholesterol, as well as your personal and family history and existing risk factors, says Jacoby.

The 2018 joint guidelines from the AHA and the American College of Cardiology recommend that anyone age 20 or older who has triglyceride levels of 175 to 499 mg/dL first be treated for the underlying medical causes that can contribute to poor blood lipid levels. These include:

• Type 2 diabetes
• Metabolic syndrome

If youve been diagnosed with one of these conditions, your doctor may recommend specific management techniques, which could include many of the lifestyle changes mentioned below, as well as medications.

Some medications, such as oral estrogen medications, beta-blockers, and certain corticosteroids and osteoporosis drugs, may also raise triglyceride levels. If one or more of your medications contributes to your high triglyceride levels, its important to talk to your doctor about how your medications may be affecting you and what that means for your health. According to Dr. Freeman, your doctor might add a medication, switch medications, or recommend changes to your diet to lower your levels. Those changes often include reducing your intake of added sugar, simple carbs, and high-fat foods and moving to a low-fat, whole-foodsbased diet.