Lowering Triglycerdes Articles | Remedy

By: Richard Bleuze

Before I begin this brief article, what exactly are triglyceides?  Well, doctor John LaRosa, M.D., director of the Lipid Research Clinic at George Washington University School of Medicine and chairman of the American Heart Association's Nutrition Committee  says the following,  "high triglycerides are often associated with low levels of HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol) and indicate a problem that's causing you to carry fat particles in the blood that do cause vascular disease. So they should be looked at as a danger signal."

The general rule is to keep your triglyceride levels below 150.  If your normal triglyceride levels are between 40 to 250 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl), then you are considered OK.  However, if your triglyceride levels are, over 500 mg/dl, then you atr in trouble since they are considered high.

Triglycerides can often be controlled in many of the same ways as cholesterol.  As a rule, if you improve one, you will usually improve the other.  Thus, I recommend the following tips to lower your triglycerides: 

1.  Diet is the best way to reduce triglycerides," says Robert DiBianco, M.D., associate clinical professor of medicine at Georgetown University and director of cardiology research at Washington Adventist Hospital in Takoma Park, Maryland.

His recommends for lowering triglyceride levels is to cut back on fat in the diet.  In addition, he saids, "The lower the better when it comes to fat".   Doctor DiBianco also says. "And keep saturated fats at less than 10%".

You can reduce your fat intake to proceed in stages.  As an example, try to reduce your fat intake to 30 percent of calories for one month (current American levels are about 40 percent).  If possible, then return to your doctor to see if there's been an improvement in your triglyceride level.   The following month try to reduce your fat intake to 25% and then 20%.  Once you reach 20%, you will be getting a good portion of your calories from complex carbohydrates, and that should bring about a reduction.

2.  It has been found that populations who eat diets high in complex carbohydrates just do not have a triglyceride problem.  Thus, the reason to be learned is to substitute complex carbohydrates for fats whenever possible.   However,  many recipes add fats back in by cooking complex carbohydrates with large amounts of fats. 

Thus, you will need to search out recipes for lasagna and pasta salads, scalloped potatoes, and other high-carbohydrate meals that are also low in fat.  That is not an easy task since many low fat dishes are plain. 

3.  Reduce eating sweets since they are a major contributor to high triglyceride levels. 

4.  Lower your weight if at all possible.  As a rule, the amount of weight that needs to be lost will depend on your ideal body weight.  However, you do not need to lose all your excess weight to see a change in triglycerides.  Just 10 pounds can bring about a lowering triglycerides in people who are 20 to 30 percent overweight.

5.  Once again exercise plays a major role in lowering triglyceride levels.   Take a daily walk.  I walk the dogs around the block 3 times a day.  If that is not your cup of tea, then lower triglyceride levels by doing 1 hour of vigorous exerciseat least three times a week.   CAUTION:  CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE YOU START AN EXERCISE PROGRAM!

6.  If at all possible, you should avoid alcohol.

7.  You can lower your triglycerides by taking fish oil.  Research has shown the triglyceride lowering abilities of omega-3 fatty acids, the type found in fish oil.  You can purchase fish oil capsules at many stories.  Or you could just eat fish regularly!   

The above tips are what I recommend to lower triglycerides.  If you have others, please email me since the more tips that I can post, the healthly our society will be.

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