Tips for lowering triglycerides
Having high triglyceride levels increases your risk of strokes and heart attacks. Triglycerides are a type of fat that is present in your blood. Levels of more than 200 are considered elevated.
Unlike your cholesterol levels, which are largely controlled by your genetics, your triglyceride levels are largely controlled by the choices you make. For the vast majority of people, positive lifestyle changes will likely be very effective in lowering elevated triglycerides.
Here are some steps you can take:
Eat only enough calories to maintain a healthy weight.
Your body can only use so much energy. If you eat more calories (energy) than you need, the surplus will be converted to trigycerides, which are stored in fat cells but also build up in your blood.
Steer clear of refined carbohydrates and sweets.
Highly-processed foods such as candy, sodas, ice cream, pastries, and breads all raise your blood sugar, which can lead to the formation of triglycerides. Choose foods with a low glycemic load. These foods help to keep your blood sugar steady and triglycerides down.
Cut back on (or eliminate) alcohol.
Excessive alcohol consumption raises triglyceride levels. Men should limit alcohol consumption to 2 drinks a day; women to one. A drink is defined as 1 12-ounce beer, 1 5-ounce glass of wine, or 1 1/2 ounces of hard liquor.
Eat more fish.
Fish contains omega-3 fats (specifically DHA and EPA) that can help reduce elevated triglyceride levels. The recommended amount to lower triglycerides is 2 - 4 grams of EPA + DHA per day. That's about 6 ounces of wild salmon, per day. Other good source of EPA and DHA include mackerel, herring, sardines, fish roe (caviar) and fish oil supplements.
Tools:
How many calories do I need?
Find foods with a low glycemic index
Find foods high in omega-3 fats
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Posted by: O | Sep 25, 2008 4:32:36 AM
For many many years I was eating a low fat diet that included "good" complex carbs like whole wheat, brown rice and the like. My triglycerides were 60-70. After switching to a low carb high fat diet (keeping the protein the same, about 1g per lb of bodyweight, and eating 150g of fat each day), my triglycerides went down to 20 at the last physical. Oh, and I got my 6-pack abs back.
Both diets contained the same amount of calories, same amount of alcohol, and same amount of fish. So the effect of dropping the triglycerides is entirely due to cutting carbs and replacing the calories with fat.
Triglycerides are formed in the presence of excess calories and carbs. Carbohydrates stimulate insulin secretion which biases fat metabolism towards storage rather than oxidation. So if you eat low carb, you can eat more fat and the body will readily use it for energy.
Posted by: O | Sep 25, 2008 4:51:54 AM
Just so that you do not think I am a genetic freak, here is evidence that there are plenty of other people observing the same effect:
http://weightoftheevidence.blogspot.com/2008/01/two-fold-reduction-in-triglycerides-how.html
My HDL also went up 20 pts - just like this study observed.
Saturated fat makes up 20% of my calories as well - from cheese, eggs, meat, and coconut oil.
Posted by: Dave | Sep 25, 2008 11:12:11 AM
Here's a picture that nicely makes the point about refined carbohydrates:
http://weightoftheevidence.wordpress.com/2008/09/25/a-picture-worth-1000-words/
Posted by: Monica Reinagel | Sep 25, 2008 5:00:47 PM
Researcher Gerald Reaven makes a good point, though: Insulin doesn't make you fat. Excess calories make you fat.
