high triglycerides?

melimomTARDIS
melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
edited November 15 in Food and Nutrition
My hubby had his bloodwork done, and it turned out ok, he's a slim 30yr old dude. But his triglycerides were in the mid 400's.

What does that mean? The paperwork said to follow a low fat diet, and to excersize. It also said he requires no medication at this time.

I dont really understand what triglycerides are, or how to lower them. We eat a mainly vegetarian diet, and he works a physically demanding job as a repairman and laborer.

Any insight would be helpful.

Replies

  • runner475
    runner475 Posts: 1,236 Member
    A blood work with trigylceride of 400 is considered in "high" range.
    Tri are fats found in our blood and our body uses them for energy so when in normal range (less than 150) are good.

    High Tri raises a risk of heart disease. They maybe high due to high blood pressure, high blood sugar, fat around the waist


    Who is recommending no medications needed at this time? Is it the lab or the doctor who prescribed the blood work? Ignore if it's lab.
    If it's the doctor who has recommended I would take a second opinion from the other doctor. Your husband doesn't have to do the blood work again. Just take these same results to the other doc.

    Vegetarian diet has nothing to with high triglycerides.

    Some of the reasons
    1) Low Good Cholesterol (HDL)
    2) Uncontrolled Blood Sugar
    3) Incorrect functioning of Thyroid or kidney
    4) Obesity - Eating more calories than burning <- this is the big one.
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
    thanks for the input! He does have slightly low HDL, and a bit of a tummy. (But an average range bmi) so at least I have an idea of where to get started.
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
    The lab recommended no meds, not his doctor. The paper the lab gave had the blurb about a low fat diet and excersize.
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
    My GP just gave me the triglycerides "tsk, tsk, tsk," too. Yup. Too much fat -- especially saturated fat -- and a dearth of exercise. WebMD has a good little slide show on how to reduce your triclycerides without drugs: http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/high-triglycerides-treatment-12/slideshow-triglycerides-tips
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
    Thanks Heidi!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    melimomTARDIS wrote: »
    The lab recommended no meds, not his doctor. The paper the lab gave had the blurb about a low fat diet and excersize.

    Interesting...I had high triglycerides and I was told to reduce my carbohydrate intake (not necessarily low carb), not my fat intake...and to eat "healthier" sources of carbohydrates (i.e. legumes, whole grains, vegetables, etc...instead of my sodas and whatnot) and to eat more fats from things like nuts, fatty fish like salmon and tuna, avocados, etc. I was also told that regular beer consumption (alcohol in general, but beer in particular) really drives up the triglycerides. I love me some craft beer, so that was definitely one of my issues.
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Interesting...I had high triglycerides and I was told to reduce my carbohydrate intake (not necessarily low carb), not my fat intake...and to eat "healthier" sources of carbohydrates (i.e. legumes, whole grains, vegetables, etc...instead of my sodas and whatnot) and to eat more fats from things like nuts, fatty fish like salmon and tuna, avocados, etc. I was also told that regular beer consumption (alcohol in general, but beer in particular) really drives up the triglycerides. I love me some craft beer, so that was definitely one of my issues.

    This is the more nuanced response and closer to the current state of knowledge than simply reducing fats. It's echoed in the WebMD slides. I'm trying to trade out cheese with salmon packets in snacking.

  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
    Thank you for that specific advice. We don't have the best medical care (for a variety of reasons) and that specialized advice is not really dispensed to us. He is a beer drinker, so that probably factors in, big time.
  • davidcliff
    davidcliff Posts: 144 Member
    That's really high for someone that young. Mine were around 350 when I was put on meds to control them.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    Wow, I didn't even know they could get that high. Mine was around 150 and I decided to lower it. Biggest two things I did was exercise and fish oil (4-6 caps a day). Since I made those changes it's been 40-45 every time (I just got it tested last month and it was 42 - and I'm 30lbs overweight currently).

    I doubt beer makes a big difference, I drink big craft beers all the time. 1600+ unique brews (not counting duplicates or multiples) in just the last 3 years alone.
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
    DopeItUp wrote: »
    Wow, I didn't even know they could get that high. Mine was around 150 and I decided to lower it. Biggest two things I did was exercise and fish oil (4-6 caps a day). Since I made those changes it's been 40-45 every time (I just got it tested last month and it was 42 - and I'm 30lbs overweight currently).

    I doubt beer makes a big difference, I drink big craft beers all the time. 1600+ unique brews (not counting duplicates or multiples) in just the last 3 years alone.

    aerobic exercise or weightlifting?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    melimomTARDIS wrote: »
    DopeItUp wrote: »
    Wow, I didn't even know they could get that high. Mine was around 150 and I decided to lower it. Biggest two things I did was exercise and fish oil (4-6 caps a day). Since I made those changes it's been 40-45 every time (I just got it tested last month and it was 42 - and I'm 30lbs overweight currently).

    I doubt beer makes a big difference, I drink big craft beers all the time. 1600+ unique brews (not counting duplicates or multiples) in just the last 3 years alone.

    aerobic exercise or weightlifting?

    I would personally say a combination of both. That has worked well for me getting mine down (I would say in conjunction with my diet). Mine were right around 500 when I started down my path to kick assness 2.5 years ago...they were around 125 on my last blood work go around and my LDL was down to 93 and my HDL was up to 50.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    melimomTARDIS wrote: »
    The lab recommended no meds, not his doctor. The paper the lab gave had the blurb about a low fat diet and excersize.

    Interesting...I had high triglycerides and I was told to reduce my carbohydrate intake (not necessarily low carb), not my fat intake...and to eat "healthier" sources of carbohydrates (i.e. legumes, whole grains, vegetables, etc...instead of my sodas and whatnot) and to eat more fats from things like nuts, fatty fish like salmon and tuna, avocados, etc. I was also told that regular beer consumption (alcohol in general, but beer in particular) really drives up the triglycerides. I love me some craft beer, so that was definitely one of my issues.

    Yes. This is clear.


  • feisty_bucket
    feisty_bucket Posts: 1,047 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I had high triglycerides and I was told to reduce my carbohydrate intake (not necessarily low carb), not my fat intake...

    My results as well. My triglycerides are at 35, and I eat high-fat (lots of saturated), and plenty of meat.
  • dena789
    dena789 Posts: 165 Member
    edited March 2015
    Omega 3 supplements are supposed to be helpful in reducing triglycerides. It's what would be found naturally in things like salmon and other fish which I don't eat much of.
  • Jessikin13
    Jessikin13 Posts: 52 Member
    Elevated triglycerides could also be from alcohol consumption. If he drinks regularly, he may want to cut back.
  • doglover2015
    doglover2015 Posts: 8
    I had high cholesterol and triglicerides for years until I cut down on red meat for cholesterol and cut down on carbs for tri t.
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
    Thanks everyone! I feel like I have some things to start with now.
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
    BTW- his HDL was 37, and his LDL was 130. Someone messaged me and told me to add those numbers to this conversation to make it more productive.

    My labwork is always good, so Iam definitely in uncertain territory here.
  • jennifershoo
    jennifershoo Posts: 3,198 Member
    Avoid trans fat (hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils), decrease intake of omega-6 oils like soybean oil and increase intake of omega-3. Eat more fruits and veggies.
  • ak592
    ak592 Posts: 7 Member
    edited March 2015
    I'm around 30yo male myself. Heart disease runs in the family - many of the men on my dad's side have had heart attacks and/or died from them. I get a ton of saturated and unsaturated fats every week (around 300g sat fat, 100g each poly and mono unsat fat) from peanut butter, coconut oil, flax seed, and salmon. I have a really low triglyceride count (39). I would be very cautious of anyone saying "reduce fat" because of a high tri count.

    Incidentally, my LDL is 50, HDL 65, cholesterol 123.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,262 Member
    Low HDL and that is low, combined with high trigs is an indicator of small dense LDL, another indicator that he should at least see a specialist, in my opinion.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    edited March 2015
    It has been known for decades that low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets can increase plasma triglyceride levels
    - and that was 15 years ago. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11082210
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