High Triglycerides?

katiefridley

My boyfriend got his blood work back today and it shows that his triglycerides are 5x the normal levels! He is freaking out and so sad about it. He is 21 years old and maybe 20 pounds over weight. His stats are probably 5'10 and 210-215 pounds. He has a "stocky" build, so a bit of muscle thrown in there, but not exactly very muscular. His legs and arms look defined and toned, but he has quite a bit on his tummy.

He eats a very poor diet. Like, fast food every day, and let's just say he isn't choosing the best options on the menu. Additionally, he does no exercise and sits down to play computer games nearly all day. I want him to make an account on here, but he is committed to it yet, so I can't force him. He hasn't caught on to my newer, healthier lifestyle and choices yet (we don't live together). When he is ready, or looking for advice, what can he do it lower these counts? Does anyone have experience with this?

Thanks in advance for your help.

tomlee

i do i do i use to be the same - fast food and video games- im sure lots of people can give you true explanations on how and why our bodies over produce = its for sure the fast food . Once i stopped going through mcdonalds everyday my levels dropped - 4 years ago i took 33 pills a day now i take six - they RE FOR BLOODPRESSURE opps cap lock .

victoria4321

Did he eat a high fat meal before the test perhaps? You're usually supposed to fast over night for the test.

katiefridley

No, his last meal was dinner the night before.

3oclockabs

Have him eat two nice size bowls of oatmeal a day and go for an hour walk 5 times a week. AT LEAST!

Firefox7275

If he is freaking out now is the time to act, he will probably calm down in a few days. Make healthy foods easier to access than unhealthy foods - fill your kitchen cupboards with the good stuff, keep some in his desk drawer or car, carry a cooler to work, be sure he has a good breakfast. Avoid triggers by not going near fast food places, not carrying cash he doesn't absolutely need.

His Body Mass Index is 31 and that is in the clinically obese category, it would need to come down to BMI 20 to 25 to be in the healthy range for a sedentary male which means hitting 170 pounds - a loss of 45 pounds even if he is a stocky build so there is more work than you think unfortunately. If he is carrying the weight on the stomach area that is very common but the least healthy, and would generally indicate fat deposits around the internal organs - but he is very much still young enough to reverse the damage.

Specific foods to eat include oily fish, omega-enriched eggs, any brightly coloured/ antioxidant rich fruit or vegetable, anything containing fibre (oats/ beans/ lentils/ nuts/ seeds/ fruit/ veggies). Avoid or limit sugars and white refined carbs because these damage the lining of the blood vessels allowing the cholesterol to stick and promote inflammation, higher intake of omega-6s (in many vegetable/ plant/ nut oils including dressings and fried foods) and animal fats because these can promote the wrong balance of fats in the body.

Can you choose active things when you are together - hiking, bowling, ice skating, frisbee in the park, dancing in a club and so on and avoid eating out?

neanderthin

Generally dropping carbs from the diet, which mean increasing protein and fat usually dumps trig in the blood like a stone. And of course don't over consume, a deficit and some exercise helps as well.

jcanfield123

Hi, I had really high Triglycerides about 2 years ago, and had to start going to an endocrinologist.
First, it's great that he had the blood work done and knows this and is concerned about it. There's lots that can be done.
I now take 4800 MG of fish oil a day. I also take 1000 MG of Niacin every day. Those are over the counter.
I also stay away from carbs (I used to eat a lot of pasta). He sounds like he may be a candidate for the Atkins diet since he eats meat (I don't).
I know my condition is hereditary, his may be as well, which just means he has to fight harder to get his numbers down.
You're right that you can't make him change, but encouragement is great as long as it doesn't sound like nagging.

Good luck!

Jim

tigersword

He needs to lose weight. Triglycerides are fat. Fat is supposed to be in fat cells. When there is too much fat in the body (in the case of some obese) than fat cells get "full" and the excess triglycerides end up trapped in the blood stream, with nowhere to go. This can be especially bad because excess fat floating around I. The blood stream is one of the classic causes of insulin resistance, which eventually leads to Type 2 Diabetes.

Basically, he needs to lose weight, and probably start exercising. Those two steps will have the biggest impact, then worry about the specifics of his diet, once he's down in weight.

bcattoes

Mine were nowhere near that high, but rising triglyceride levels were what finally got me off the couch and back into exercising regularly. And that is the best way to bring them down.

Mine are now so low that the 'quickie' test that uses only a drop of blood and delivers results in 7 minutes can't measure it (they are < 45). And my HDL level is higher than my LDL, which was a nice perk as well.

neanderthin

Mine were nowhere near that high, but rising triglyceride levels were what finally got me off the couch and back into exercising regularly. And that is the best way to bring them down.

Mine are now so low that the 'quickie' test that uses only a drop of blood and delivers results in 7 minutes can't measure it (they are < 45). And my HDL level is higher than my LDL, which was a nice perk as well.

Good job, my trigs are in the 30's and my HDL is just over 100. At one time my trigs were over 300 and HDL was in the 50's.