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Why Do I Have High Ldl And Low Triglycerides

Low Hdl High Triglycerides

Forget LDL-Cholesterol, Low Triglycerides More Important (here’s why)

Low HDL, High triglycerides is a common cholesterol disorder. However, many people stay focused on LDL cholesterol. Often, they have no clue why they have low HDL, high triglycerides and how to raise HDL cholesterol and lower triglycerides level.

There are three types of cholesterol you should know about:

1. HDL cholesterol, also known as the good cholesterol.

2. LDL cholesterol, also known as the bad cholesterol.

3. Triglycerides

The cause may be a lack of an enzyme needed to help metabolize fat and get it out of the bloodstream. In some cases the problem appears along with another disorder such as hypothyroidism, pancreatitis, or diabetes. If a primary disease is identified and treated, the triglyceride levels should drop to normal.

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When To Seek Medical Advice

A high triglyceride level often does not produce any symptoms, so this condition is usually diagnosed during routine blood tests including a lipid panel.

If the patient does not have any medical conditions or bad lifestyle choices, then the doctor usually orders a lipid panel to be done every few years to assess the triglyceride and cholesterol levels.

If the triglyceride levels are detected above the normal range in the lipid panel, then the doctor will usually recommend lifestyle changes, such as exercise and diet as the first line of treatment for hypertriglyceridemia. If diet and exercise are not effective in lowering the high triglycerides, then medications, such as fibrates or statins are prescribed.

More Important Than Ldl The Triglyceride/hdl Ratio

by Ford Brewer | Sep 11, 2020 | Plaque, Prediabetes & Diabetes

There are few things that humble me more than my complete and utter buffoonery when it comes to HDL lipidology Peter Attia

Its true of all of us. Thomas Dayspring

Thomas Dayspring is a nationally recognized lipidologist. That means hes an expert on cholesterol, fat, and oil metabolism. And Peter Attia is no slouch in this area. If youd like to spend a few hours hearing cutting-edge concepts in this area, try listening to episodes 20-24 of Attias podcast THE DRIVE.

But be warned that video is very technical. Less than 600 people have started even one of these podcasts. We can only guess how many finished the full 5 hours. I did.

Some information wasnt that new. For example, Attia and Dayspring mentioned that the Framingham study indicates that TG/HDL is 5 times more predictive of heart attack risk than LDL.

They also mentioned that lipoprotein particles pass both cholesterol and fatty acids around like hot potatoes. A few of their concepts also seemed to contradict some basics mentioned later in this article.

Why would I focus this article on such simple concepts?

Because the basics of triglycerides and HDL are critical to health. But the complicated version just isnt understandable, let alone actionable.

I did a simple version of the TG/HDL in a video 3 years ago. It was one of our popular videos.

Many people told me the information saved their lives. Chuck Smith is one of those people.

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Metabolic Syndrome Risk Factors

High triglyceride levels are associated with a collection of disorders known as metabolic syndrome. A person with metabolic syndrome has an increased risk of developing diabetes, stroke or heart disease.A person is classed as having metabolic syndrome when they have any three of the following factors:

  • Central obesity excess fat in and around the stomach
  • High blood pressure
  • Higher than normal blood glucose levels
  • Low HDL cholesterol
  • High blood triglycerides.

How Quickly Can I Lower My Cholesterol

What Causes Low HDL Cholesterol Levels?

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.

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Lower Triglyceride Levels Are Associated With Better Endothelial Function

FMD values were highest in the group with extremely low levels of triglycerides.

Lower triglyceride levels are associated with better endothelial function.

The group with extremely low triglycerides had fewer atherosclerosis risk factors.

The odds ratio for a lower quartile of FMD remained independently lower.

High Cholesterol High Hdl Low Triglycerides

Dr T

Question: Answer:

There are 2 kinds of LDL cholesterol, A and B, of which B is associated with heart disease.Most labs calculate LDL as follows:

LDL = Total Cholesterol HDL triglycerides/5.

This doesnt explain the difference between LDL A or B .

Studies have shown that there is a strong correlation between a low triglyceride/high HDL level and LDL pattern A .

On the other hand, a high triglyceride/low HDL level is strongly associated with LDL pattern B . Thus high triglycerides are an independent risk factor for heart disease.

From this you can calculate that in your situation a high LDL is mostly Type A , confirmed by a high HDL and low triglyrerides and that therefore there a very low risk of heart disease.

Having high cholesterol may still be healthy if good cholesterol levels, triglycerides, and other markers of cardiovascular health are good. You can calculate this here. People with high good cholesterol levels and low levels of triglycerides may actually be at a lower risk for heart disease than people with normal cholesterol levels who have lower levels of good cholesterol and higher levels of bad cholesterol.

Hope this helps,

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Diets High In Calories Carbs And Fats

Triglyceride levels increase with a positive energy-intake balance . In other words, when you eat more than your body needs, the surplus is transformed into fat, including triglycerides. Its easier to overeat when your diet is high in calories and contains lots of carbs and saturated fats .

Low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets are among the most common causes of high triglycerides. But wait we said that high-fat diets are bad, so doesnt that mean a low-fat diet should be beneficial? Not quite .

Saturated, unhealthy fats are bad. But your body needs healthy fats such as those found in olive oil and fish oil to keep your triglyceride levels normal and to maintain your overall health. If you dont get enough dietary fats, your body will revert to transforming the sugars you consume into fats .

This goes against the popular but unfounded belief that your body wont store fat as long as you dont eat fats. In truth, high-carbohydrate diets can be much worse than high-fat diets for your triglyceride levels. Many scientists advocate that high-carb, low-fat diets likely also contributed to the obesity epidemic in America over the past few decades .

My Cholesterol Is Normal But My Triglycerides Are High: Why Is That

High Cholesterol – Do I Need To Take Medication?

So both your HDL and LDL levels are where they should be, but your triglycerides are still high why is that?

Triglycerides become elevated due to excess calories that do not get burned off, and in turned get stored in fat cells. Statins are medications that primarily lower LDL cholesterol, but depending on the medication dose, can lower Triglycerides from 20 to 40 percent, Sai Hanumanthu MD, with the TriHealth Heart Institute explains.

There are steps you can take to lower your triglyceride levels while promoting good cardiovascular health, including:

  • Losing 5 to 10 pounds if overweight
  • Avoiding alcohol
  • Avoiding foods high in saturated fats
  • Limiting simple carbs that have high processed sugars .
  • Participating in 30 minutes of exercise per day

All these suggestions and routine follow up with a medical professional will lower you triglyceride level, even despite a low total cholesterol, Dr. Hanumanthu says.

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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.

Do High Tg Levels Affect Hdl And Ldl Cholesterol Levels

The image below shows how LDLs and HDLs transport TG. It is from the National Lipid Associations website, used with permission from Tom Dayspring .

Here, an enzyme called CETP facilitates the exchange of cholesterol in large HDL and large LDL with TG. What CETP does is it takes cholesterol out of large HDL and LDL particles and then transfers TG into these particles. In turn, hepatic lipase metabolizes TG-rich HDLs and LDLs, leading to smaller HDLs and LDLs.

In a nutshell, high TG levels affect HDL and LDL levels. And prediabetes leads to high TG levels.

Look at the image below showing what a lipid profile would look like in a patient with prediabetes.

  • The patient has elevated TG levels , a low HDL cholesterol level , and a high LDL cholesterol level .
  • There was a decrease in the size of HDLs. Normally, the HDL curve should be a smooth bell curve peaking where the red circle is drawn. Here, the large HDLs are taken out.
  • There was also a decrease in the size of LDLs. Though the LDL has a good bell curve at the right, the curves peak shifted to the left. This means there are more smaller and denser LDLs.
  • Aside from prediabetes, this patient actually has another problemfamilial hypercholesterolemia . Neither condition was noticed before the patient came to us.

    To make matters worse, the patient also has an elevated TG/HDL216/34 or 6.4! I recommend a goal of 1.5 or less.

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    Prevention Of High Cholesterol

    Regularly monitoring your cholesterol levels can also help prevent your numbers from getting too high or low. In general, healthy adults should check their cholesterol every four to six years, but your doctor may ask to check your cholesterol more often depending on your age, overall health, and other risk factors. There are other ways to prevent high cholesterol, too

    Normal Cholesterol With High Triglycerides What Is That

    Why Does Cholesterol Go Up On Keto Diet?,whatischolesterol is coconut ...

    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 200 239 mg/dL is considered borderline
    • Over 240 mg/dL is considered high

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    When To Contact A Doctor

    While high triglyceride levels may not usually cause symptoms, anyone who is uncertain or concerned about their triglyceride levels should consult a doctor.

    Additionally, any adult who has not had a lipid profile test in the last 46 years should speak with a doctor about their cardiovascular risk factors and possible need for a test. Catching elevated levels of health markers, such as triglycerides or cholesterol, at an early stage may help a person make changes earlier to address the underlying issue.

    9 sourcescollapsed

    • Arnett, D. K., et al. . 2019 ACC/AHA Guideline on the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease: A report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on clinical practice guidelines.

    Why Is There Tg In The Blood

    The most common reason for elevated triglycerides is prediabetes. Chronically high insulin stimulates adipokines and hormone-sensitive lipase. This results in the release of too many fatty acids from fat cells. These excess fatty acids take up space in HDL and LDL particles.

    TG can also become elevated in several inherited diseases.

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    Diagnosis Of High Triglycerides

    A blood test can reveal whether or not you have high triglycerides. You may need to have two blood tests for accurate results. Dont eat anything for at least 12 hours before each blood test because food particularly fatty food can temporarily boost triglyceride levels in the blood and skew your test results.Triglycerides are measured in mmol/L. The range includes:

    • Very high over 6 mmol/L
    • High between2 and 6 mmol/L
    • Borderline high between 1.7 and 2 mmol/L
    • Normal below 1.7 mmol/L

    The doctor may also test your cholesterol levels. In many cases, high triglycerides and high cholesterol go hand in hand. This condition is sometimes known as combined hyperlipidemia.

    Why The Test Is Performed

    Why Would Triglycerides Elevate on Keto? Causes of High Triglycerides on Keto â Dr.Berg

    Triglycerides are usually measured together with other blood fats. Often it is done to help determine your risk of developing heart disease. A high triglyceride level may lead to atherosclerosis, which increases your risk for heart attack and stroke.

    A very high triglyceride level may also cause swelling of your pancreas .

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    Consequences Of Low Hdl High Triglycerides

    Cholesterol gets deposited easily in the blood vessels of these patients and the build-up of cholesterol cannot be cleansed out efficiently due to low level of HDL cholesterol. Consequently, these patients are at very high risk for narrowing of the blood vessels.

    HDL cholesterol and triglyceride level serves as an extremely useful test to diagnose Insulin Resistance Syndrome. If your HDL is low and/or your triglyceride level is high, you have Insulin Resistance Syndrome.

    Low HDL cholesterol has been known to be a strong risk factor for coronary artery disease for a long time. In 1977, the results of the famous Framingham Heart Study were published in the American Journal of Medicine. In this study, HDL cholesterol was found to be the most potent lipid predictor of coronary heart disease.

    Several other studies including the Coronary Primary Prevention Trial , the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial , and the Lipid Research Clinics Follow-up Study further confirmed the strong relationship between low HDL cholesterol and coronary artery disease.

    Raising HDL cholesterol reduces the risk for heart attack. A 1% increase in HDL cholesterol is associated with a 3% decrease in risk of heart disease. This impressive role of HDL cholesterol in preventing heart attack was shown in the famous Veterans Affairs HDL Intervention Trial . The results of this study were published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1999.

    Complications Of High Cholesterol

    Since high cholesterol alone typically doesnt cause any symptoms, people only experience complications when their high cholesterol contributes to the development of severe heart disease, often in the form of heart attack or stroke. Over the long term, high cholesterol can cause plaque to form in your arteries, which can then narrow and lead to a cardiovascular emergency.

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    How Can You Naturally Lower Tg And Increase Hdl Levels

    The most effective ways to improve your TG/HDL are:

    • Lose weight. Body fat used to be considered as an inert energy storage tissue. Now we know it is an endocrine tissue that releases chemicals that cause insulin resistance, prediabetes, and CV risk .
    • Eat fewer carbs. Get into a lower carbohydrate diet .
    • Exercise. Exercise increases HDL levels and lowers TG levels .
    • Take niacin. It is one of the few supplements that lowers TG , increases HDL cholesterol levels , and lowers LDL cholesterol levels .
    • Get dietary and supplemental omega-3s .

    Normal Cholesterol High Triglycerides

    normalcholesterollevels what foods increase good cholesterol?

    Even though your latest physical may have shown that your cholesterol levels are normal, you may still be at risk for heart disease if your triglycerides level is high.

    A 20-year study conducted by the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine found that a pattern of elevated levels of triglycerides, the main form of fats circulating in the bloodstream, even when cholesterol levels are normal, can mean a two- to three-fold increase of deaths by cardiovascular disease.

    Blood triglycerides come from two main sources: the food you eat-especially sugar, animal products and saturated fats-and from your liver. Although its not exactly clear how, high triglyceride levels can result in hardening of the arteries or thickening of the artery walls , which can raise your risk for stroke, heart attack, and heart disease.

    • Normal triglyceride levels are less than 150 milligrams per deciliter
    • Borderline high is 150-199 mg/dl high is 200-499 mg/dl
    • Very high 500 mg/dl. A triglyceride level of 150 mg/dl or above is considered a risk for metabolic syndrome-a constellation of conditions resulting from too much fat around the waist-which in addition to raising your risk for heart disease, it can also increase your risk for diabetes.

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    What Is High Cholesterol Symptoms Causes Diagnosis Treatment And Prevention

    High cholesterol is a condition that occurs when levels of cholesterol in your blood are elevated enough to cause health problems, including heart disease and stroke. Sometimes known as hyperlipidemia, high cholesterol is painless and doesnt cause any symptoms until a person develops severe heart disease.

    According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and stroke is the fifth leading cause.

    Produced by your liver, cholesterol is a dense, fatty substance thats found in every cell of your body, and it is considered essential to many life-sustaining functions. It helps your body make hormones and vitamin D, and it’s also found in compounds that your body creates to help you digest food, such as bile.

    Circulating in the bloodstream in small bundles of fat and protein called lipoproteins, cholesterol comes in two primary types: low-density lipoprotein , which contributes to the buildup of fatty plaques, and high-density lipoprotein , which is thought to protect from heart disease and stroke. A blood test known as a lipid panel can measure both LDL and HDL cholesterol, as well as triglycerides, the most common type of fat in the blood.

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