Triglycerides

How do you lower Triglycerides? I really don't like the prescription I was given.
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Replies

  • chelseakayemacias
    chelseakayemacias Posts: 2 Member
    Losing any weight can help! Even 5% of your current. I would suggest cutting out red meat and eat skinless chicken. Just watch your fat intake and focus on meeting your fat goals each day! Just be careful not to replace fat in your meals with added sugars or that will impede weight loss!
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    Google says

    Lifestyle changes—such as modifying your diet and losing weight—can potentially cut your triglyceride levels in half.
    Lose weight. ...
    Cut the sugar. ...
    Stock up on fiber. ...
    Limit fructose. ...
    Eat a moderately low-fat diet. ...
    Watch the type of fat you eat. ...
    Add omega-3 fatty acids. ...
    Exercise.
  • dfwesq
    dfwesq Posts: 592 Member
    edited March 2017
    The National Institutes of Health and US Department of Agriculture promote eating guidelines called the DASH diet that you might want to look into and ask your doctor about. It's basically recommendations for the kind and amount of foods to eat. That's basically how I eat, and my triglycerides are good.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    I cut my triglycerides in half by losing 40-60 lbs (I'm not sure at what point I had the starting lab work done) with no particular dietary changes. I mean, I aim for healthy-ish choices, but have a sweet tooth and continued to have the foods I enjoyed as they fit into my calorie goals. I started in the obese range though- not sure how much you would have to lose to see a comparable change. I also get moderate exercise 4-5 times a week.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,163 Member
    Mine had been running well over 200 (maxed at 402!) and went down to 70s/80s after losing 60-some pounds. Before losing weight, reducing alcohol and carbs helped a little bit (not super low carbs; just stopping being quite so crazy).
  • markrgeary1
    markrgeary1 Posts: 853 Member
    edited March 2017
    try2again wrote: »
    I cut my triglycerides in half by losing 40-60 lbs (I'm not sure at what point I had the starting lab work done) with no particular dietary changes. I mean, I aim for healthy-ish choices, but have a sweet tooth and continued to have the foods I enjoyed as they fit into my calorie goals. I started in the obese range though- not sure how much you would have to lose to see a comparable change. I also get moderate exercise 4-5 times a week.

    I think you are telling my story.
  • Rocknut53
    Rocknut53 Posts: 1,794 Member
    try2again wrote: »
    I cut my triglycerides in half by losing 40-60 lbs (I'm not sure at what point I had the starting lab work done) with no particular dietary changes. I mean, I aim for healthy-ish choices, but have a sweet tooth and continued to have the foods I enjoyed as they fit into my calorie goals. I started in the obese range though- not sure how much you would have to lose to see a comparable change. I also get moderate exercise 4-5 times a week.

    Same with me.
  • CynthiasChoice
    CynthiasChoice Posts: 1,047 Member
    Google says

    Lifestyle changes—such as modifying your diet and losing weight—can potentially cut your triglyceride levels in half.
    Lose weight. ...
    Cut the sugar. ...
    Stock up on fiber. ...
    Limit fructose. ...
    Eat a moderately low-fat diet. ...
    Watch the type of fat you eat. ...
    Add omega-3 fatty acids. ...
    Exercise.

    Good list! I'm not sure what is meant by a "moderately low-fat diet" however. Avocado, olive oil, pasture-raised meats and dairy, and salmon will improve your overall cholesterol and won't raise triglycerides. As for "watch the type of fat you eat," pay attention to food labels and stay away from hydrogenated oils/trans fats. In addition to cutting sugar, cut down on white flour as well, and lower your carb intake in general. And limit yourself to 2 -3 servings of fruit per day. After a few months, you will definitely see an improvement. You're right to want to avoid the meds. Good for you!
  • dpwellman
    dpwellman Posts: 3,271 Member
    Exercise. Shorter, high intensity does the trick for most. There's also a period beyond, say, 40 minutes of continued steady effort (Zone 2 Training) that has a significant effect as well.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    try2again wrote: »
    I cut my triglycerides in half by losing 40-60 lbs (I'm not sure at what point I had the starting lab work done) with no particular dietary changes. I mean, I aim for healthy-ish choices, but have a sweet tooth and continued to have the foods I enjoyed as they fit into my calorie goals. I started in the obese range though- not sure how much you would have to lose to see a comparable change. I also get moderate exercise 4-5 times a week.

    I think you are telling my story.
    Rocknut53 wrote: »
    try2again wrote: »
    I cut my triglycerides in half by losing 40-60 lbs (I'm not sure at what point I had the starting lab work done) with no particular dietary changes. I mean, I aim for healthy-ish choices, but have a sweet tooth and continued to have the foods I enjoyed as they fit into my calorie goals. I started in the obese range though- not sure how much you would have to lose to see a comparable change. I also get moderate exercise 4-5 times a week.

    Same with me.

    It's a good story ;)
  • dfwesq
    dfwesq Posts: 592 Member
    Fwiw, my story is kind of the reverse. My triglycerides (and other blood work) improved quickly when I made changes to my diet and exercised more. Weight loss was a lot slower.
  • ronjsteele1
    ronjsteele1 Posts: 1,064 Member
    Weight loss helps but for me (genetically high lipid issues) the only thing that worked was a high fat, high protein, lower carb diet (not low carb but definitely lower/more moderate). The more fat I eat, the better my lipids have gotten (all lipid markers including triglycerides). Statins are very bad for you. Your body needs cholesterol and messing with your liver's production of it with statins is really unhealthy. Changing your diet and losing weight will go a long way towards getting you where you need to be.
  • missh1967
    missh1967 Posts: 661 Member
    Lots of good suggestions so far. However, keep in mind that sometimes genetics trumps lifestyle. In other words, it's possible to do everything right but our bodies still have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and/or high triglycerides. If that is the case, don't be disheartened.
  • RedheadedPrincess14
    RedheadedPrincess14 Posts: 415 Member
    Low fat vegan diet was the only thing that ever worked for me but maybe just low fat in general?
  • dfwesq
    dfwesq Posts: 592 Member
    Just wanted to add something, which is that changing your diet is something you can do relatively quickly. Losing a lot of weight takes more time. Even if both were equally effective ways of lowering triglycerides, improving your diet might work faster. Btw, be sure to check with your doctor about all this.
  • bpotts44
    bpotts44 Posts: 1,066 Member
    I has more to do with carbs not fat intake. I would get your macros set to something like 40% carbs, 30, 30. No reason to avoid red meats, but I would avoid poly unsaturated fats like vegetable oil and sugary stuff.
  • 3rdof7sisters
    3rdof7sisters Posts: 486 Member
    Just curious OP, what did your doctor advise?
  • Unknown
    edited March 2017
    This content has been removed.
  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,565 Member
    edited March 2017
    dumb post deleted
  • dfwesq
    dfwesq Posts: 592 Member
    mph323 wrote: »
    I was able to drop my triglycerides almost down to normal by losing 30 lbs. last year. The current overage is due to high HDL (good) but also LDL still a little over the line. I think exercise may be a bigger factor in lowering the LDL at this point than diet (for me) so I'm focusing on getting 2 - 3 good cardio workouts a week and am curious to see how that goes.
    Maybe I'm misreading. Are you talking about triglycerides, or cholesterol?

  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,565 Member
    oops, you're right. Deleting now - nothing to see here...
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
    My family members with triglyceride issues had to pretty much give up drinking to get the numbers to come down.
  • BootCampC
    BootCampC Posts: 689 Member
    at the GYM: "sweat is triglycerides leaving the body"
  • dfwesq
    dfwesq Posts: 592 Member
    edited March 2017
    mph323 wrote: »
    oops, you're right. Deleting now - nothing to see here...
    Yours wasn't a dumb post. I was just confused. Cholesterol is important too. :)
  • bpotts44
    bpotts44 Posts: 1,066 Member
    dpwellman wrote: »
    Exercise. Shorter, high intensity does the trick for most. There's also a period beyond, say, 40 minutes of continued steady effort (Zone 2 Training) that has a significant effect as well.

    He is right. I left this out. Lower your carbs and do some working out. Even brisk walking will help. If you are overweight try to get to a healthy weight as well, but stick to your carb macros.
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
    Years ago I went on Atkins and my blood work improved after a loss of 45 lbs.

    Fast forward many years later and my blood work improved when I went vegan and lost 50ish lbs.

    So for me just losing weight helped because those diets are completely different.


  • dfwesq
    dfwesq Posts: 592 Member
    edited March 2017
    Google says
    ...
    Eat a moderately low-fat diet. ...
    ....

    Good list! I'm not sure what is meant by a "moderately low-fat diet" however. Avocado, olive oil, pasture-raised meats and dairy, and salmon will improve your overall cholesterol and won't raise triglycerides....
    I'm guessing whoever said that was trying not to give the impression that a high-fat diet was OK. Too much fat could add pounds, and that wouldn't help triglycerides.

  • ronjsteele1
    ronjsteele1 Posts: 1,064 Member
    Noel_57 wrote: »
    bpotts44 wrote: »
    I has more to do with carbs not fat intake. I would get your macros set to something like 40% carbs, 30, 30. No reason to avoid red meats, but I would avoid poly unsaturated fats like vegetable oil and sugary stuff.
    This is true. Triglycerides - fats circulating in the blood - are actually elevated by carbohydrate intake. Not dietary fat. It is a classic symptom of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. Reducing your carbohydrate intake, especially simple carbs like sugar and some starches, can have a dramatic effect in lowering triglyceride levels. I know this from my own before/after blood work.

    True. I should have carried this out. When one eats higher fat they tend to eat lower carb as a natural thing (although not *always* - it just seems people tend that way naturally when eating higher fat). To keep my triglycerides and overall lipids in check I follow a 40C, 40F, 20P macro split and that seems to work well. When I get more carbs then that my lipids tend to whack out more.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    It's helpful to know WHY the triglycerides are high to begin with. Elevated triglycerides are often (usually?) not the primary problem--they are the result of something else out of whack or part of a larger genetic dyslipidemia. So all of the suggested interventions could be helpful or some of them, or none of them--it depends.
  • macchiatto
    macchiatto Posts: 2,890 Member
    My triglycerides were at 217 and my fasting glucose was 107. For me what worked was eating low carb and losing about 10% of my body weight. I can't guarantee if it was the weight loss or the low carbs that did the trick, but when I had blood work done a year later, my triglycerides were 52 and my fasting glucose was 80. I regained the weight at one point (and have since lost it again) but I've stayed lower carb and my triglycerides and blood glucose have both stayed lower, too.