Triglycerides

pwedge68

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

chelseakayemacias

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

JeromeBarry1 wrote: »

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

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

markrgeary1 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.

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

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

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

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

Low fat vegan diet was the only thing that ever worked for me but maybe just low fat in general?

dfwesq

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

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

Just curious OP, what did your doctor advise?

mph323

dumb post deleted

dfwesq

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

oops, you're right. Deleting now - nothing to see here...