Treatment Of High Triglycerides
In most cases, high triglycerides are managed by making lifestyle changes. You may be advised to:
- Exercise for at least 30 minutes every day.
- Eat less, particularly high fat foods.
- Increase the amount of fibre in your diet.
- Avoid high sugar foods such as lollies. Choose foods with a low glycaemic index such as legumes and wholegrain products.
- Eat more fish. Choose fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids such as salmon, mackerel, tuna and trout. Omega-3 in high doses can reduce triglyceride levels.
- Cut back on alcohol. The kilojoules and sugar in alcoholic drinks can raise triglyceride levels.
- Lose excess body fat using a combination of healthy eating and regular exercise.
- Manage coexisting health conditions such as diabetes or hypertension effectively.
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.
- Niacincan lower triglycerides by up to 50%. Its 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. Its possible that one of them could be causing your problem.
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What Are Normal And High Triglyceride Levels
The National Cholesterol Education Program sets guidelines for triglyceride levels:
- Normal levels: Less than 150 milligrams per deciliter
- Borderline high:150 to 199
- High: 200 to 499
- Very high: 500 or more
Elevated levels may lead to heart disease, especially in people with low levels of good cholesterol and high levels of bad cholesterol. The same is true if you have type 2 diabetes.
Experts once debated how important triglycerides are, but it now seems clear that higher levels are linked to problems such as heart disease.
One thing is clear, though: A good diet and exercise plan can lower triglyceride levels, improve cholesterol, and decrease the chance of heart disease.
Most people with high cholesterol feel perfectly well and often have no symptoms.
Visit your GP to find out your cholesterol level and to find out what you need to do if your levels of bad cholesterol are high.
For people aged 45 years and over, you can have your cholesterol checked as part of a Heart Health Check with your GP.
If you identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, you should have your cholesterol checked from age 18 years.
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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.
Establish A Sleep Schedule
Earlier I mentioned how high triglycerides are associated with a sluggish thyroid . This is because a lack of thyroid hormone causes lipids to hang out in the blood for longer periods of time.
One way to improve thyroid function, triglycerides levels, and energy levels at the same time is by prioritizing sleep. Make sure you are sleeping at around the same time every night and getting enough sleep .
If you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, turn off all lights and electronics at-least 30 minutes before bed time and meditate. By doing this, you will increase melatonin and decrease stress levels, making it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep throughout the night. Follow the same meditation and sleep schedule every week to wake up feeling more refreshed and healthier each morning.
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Simple Ways To Fit In Exercise
Don’t stress if itâs hard to get in a 30-minute workout every day.
“You don’t necessarily have to set aside a period of time when you put on your jogging shoes and sweatpants and go running,” says Robert Bonow, MD, former president of the American Heart Association. “You can just be active throughout the day.”
Start gradually. Squeeze in 10 minutes of exercise, and build up to several times a day. Here are a few ways to add some activity into your schedule:
- Stand up and pace whenever you talk on the phone or while you watch TV.
- Challenge yourself to keep adding in steps until you get up to 10,000 steps a day. Wear a pedometer all day to track your steps.
- Find an app for your smartphone that offers a 10-minute workout.
Once you get your exercise routine down, improve results even more with a healthy diet. Youâll feel a sense of accomplishment, and enjoy better health.
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Foods To Lower Triglycerides
If you have high triglycerides levels, apart from avoiding foods high in triglycerides, there’re also some foods that can help to lower your levels, which include:
1. Include More Omega3 Foods in Your Diet
Some fats are healthy and therefore, omega-3 fats can be used when you need to cut down the quantity of saturated and trans-fats from your food. These omega-3 fats are highly recommended for a healthy heart and particularly effective at lowering the levels of triglycerides. You can eat about two omega-3 fish servings like wild salmon, mackerel , herring, rainbow trout, sardines or maybe oysters every week. Additionally, let your doctor advise you on the habit of including fish oil supplements as part of your diet.
2. Go For Soy Protein
Soy protein is highly recommended for you if you realize that you have high levels of triglycerides. Soy protein lowers the level of triglycerides in your blood more than protein obtained from animal foods. A study published in 2004 in the Atherosclerosis Journal by Canadian researchers amongst 50 year old persons with high blood triglycerides responded positively after taking 25 grams quantity of soy protein for each 1,000 calories consumed.
3. Enjoy the Benefits of Nuts
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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.
What Is The Best Triglyceride Lowering Diet Low
Lets start by comparing two ends of the dietary spectrum Low-carb versus low-fat.
A recent meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials evaluated the effects that low-carb and low-fat diets had on triglyceride levels with conclusive results. Researchers found greater reductions in triglyceride levels on the low-carb diet.
In another study by Bonow and Eckel, the two scientists concluded that low-carb diets produced a more robust triglyceride-lowering effect than low-fat diets, even if there was a similar magnitude of weight loss after one year.
These studies confirm what we found above. Eat more carbohydrates and less fat, and youll increase your triglyceride levels. Eat fewer carbs and more fat, and the opposite will occur. In fact, researchers found that for every 5% decrease in total fat, triglyceride level was predicted to increase by 6% and HDL cholesterol to decrease by 2.2%.
However, there could be other variables at play in this case. When you reduce fat consumption, youll be more likely to eat processed carbohydrates, which limit fat burning and increase fat production. So, high triglycerides levels only have to do with increased processed sugar consumption, right? Not quite.
However, there is another diet that heralded more than the low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet for its health benefits. Could this diet be the perfect balance of carbs and fats? Or is the low-carbohydrate diet always better?
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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 .
The Best Diet For Lowering Triglycerides: A Mediterranean
Throughout the research on lowering triglycerides, two trends emerge. The first is that limiting carbohydrates and increasing fat consumption leads to lower triglyceride levels. The second is that polyunsaturated fats decrease triglycerides more than any other fat.
If we combine these two trends together, we come out with a Mediterranean-style ketogenic diet that restricts carbohydrates more than any other diet and places emphasis on omega-3 rich fish like sardines and salmon and polyunsaturated fat rich nuts and olive oil.
The Mediterranean-style Ketogenic Diet will also provide a healthier amount of vegetables, fiber, and protein than a typical Americans diet, which further improves triglyceride levels.
Not sure what a Mediterranean-style Ketogenic meal would look like? Here are some delicious examples:
Or have a can of sardines on a delicious Oven Roasted Caprese Salad.
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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.
Causes Of High Triglycerides
In many cases, habitual overeating causes high triglycerides. Occasionally, the trigger is an underlying condition such as:
- Excessive alcohol consumption
- Some types of liver disease
- Some types of kidney disease
- Some genetic disorders, including the inherited disease familial hypertriglyceridemia and familial combined hyperlipidemia .
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Increase Your Intake Of Unsaturated Fats
Studies show that monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can reduce blood triglyceride levels, especially when theyre replacing carbs in your diet .
Monounsaturated fats are found in foods like olive oil, nuts, and avocados. Polyunsaturated fats are present in vegetable oils and fatty fish, as well as nuts and seeds such as walnuts, flaxseeds, and chia seeds.
A 2019 review of 27 studies reported that while olive oil consumption does decrease triglycerides levels, it does so significantly less than other types of plant oil .
One older study analyzed the diets of 452 adults in a specific population of Indigenous people in Alaska over the previous 24 hours.
It found that saturated fat intake was associated with increased blood triglycerides, while polyunsaturated fat intake was associated with lower triglyceride levels .
To maximize the triglyceride-lowering benefits of unsaturated fats, pick a heart-healthy fat like olive oil and use it to replace other types of fat in your diet, such as trans fats or highly processed vegetable oils .
Summary
Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can decrease blood triglyceride levels, especially when theyre consumed in place of other fats.
Ask Your Doctor About Natural Supplements
Several natural supplements could have the potential to lower blood triglycerides. Always speak with your doctor before starting any supplements, as they can interact with other medications.
Note especially that the Food and Drug Administration does not regulate supplements in the same way as it regulates pharmaceuticals, and supplement quality can vary widely.
Below are a few of the main supplements that have been studied:
- Fish oil. Well known for its potent effects on heart health, fish oil is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown to decrease triglycerides and several other risk factors for heart disease (
Summary
Several supplements have been studied for their ability to lower triglyceride levels, including fish oil, fenugreek, garlic extract, guggul, and curcumin.
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Foods That Could Help Lower Triglycerides
Chances are, you’ve heard that having healthy triglyceride levels in your blood is important. But what exactly are triglycerides, and how do they work in your body? And when you have high levels, is it possible to manage them with lifestyle, and can food make a difference? The good news is, according to food and health pros, what you eat can help. We’ve rounded up some of the foods that can lower triglycerides, and there are plenty of whole foods on the list.
Mistakes You’re Making When Trying To Lower Your Triglycerides
Triglycerides are a type of fat that makes up most of your body fat stores. They can also be found in various foods, such as butter, margarine and oils. Beyond consumption of triglycerides, what and how much you eat also affects your blood triglyceride levels. When you eat more calories than you need, whether from carbohydrates, protein or fat, your body stores the excess calories as fat in the form of triglycerides.
Hypertriglyceridemia is a condition where elevated levels of triglycerides are present in the blood. It is a risk factor for heart disease and diabetes. Luckily, making changes to your diet and lifestyle can help lower your triglycerides and improve your health outcomes. Here are six mistakes that you may be making when trying to lower your triglycerides.
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Include Nuts In Your Diet
Nuts provide a concentrated dose of fiber and healthy fats, which work together to lower blood triglycerides.
An analysis of 61 studies on the effects that nuts have on our health showed that each serving of tree nuts decreased triglycerides by 2.2 mg/dL. Other epidemiological studies found that you will get the greatest health benefits if you consume between 37 servings of nuts per week.
Here are some nutty recipes you can try to get more nuts in your diet:
What Other Lifestyle Changes Help Lower Triglycerides
Lifestyle strategies are a way to lower triglycerides naturally.
Weight loss has a positive effect on triglycerides. For every 5% to 10% weight reduction, triglycerides may be lowered by 20%. Another way to look at this: For every kilogram lost, triglycerides may be reduced by 2%.
Increasing physical activity lowers triglycerides.
- Aerobic activity of any kind, especially when done after a meal, uses up triglycerides that are in the blood ready to be used as fuel. This not only lowers triglycerides but also helps with abdominal obesity.
- Exercise is most effective for lowering triglycerides when they are very elevated. If triglycerides are optimal , exercise will not further lower the level.
All together, intensive lifestyle strategies can reduce triglycerides by 50% or more over a year. Lifestyle strategies can enable people to effectively reduce triglycerides without medicine or drugs, plus there are many other positive effects on other aspects of health and well-being. This is the recommended approach of the American Heart Association for anyone with triglycerides greater than optimal .
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When Should I Get My Triglyceride Levels Checked
If you are aged 45 years or older, you should have your cholesterol and triglycerides checked every 5 years. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people should start regular triglyceride checks from age 35.
The level of triglycerides in your blood is higher after you eat, so you will need to fast for 9 to 12 hours before the test.
Talk to your doctor about your results and what to do if your levels are high.
Eating Foods With A Low Gi
The glycemic index indicates how much a specific food is likely to increase your blood sugar levels.
For example, oats have a low GI, but white bread has a high GI and is more likely to lead to a big spike in your blood sugar.
Research suggests that eating a low glycemic diet is associated with lower triglycerides.
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