How To Quickly Lower Triglycerides

How Long Does It Take To Reduce Cholesterol

Cholesterol drops over time, not suddenly, after a few days of healthier living. There is no set period in which cholesterol is guaranteed to drop.

Cholesterol-lowering drugs usually produce a change in LDL within 6 to 8 weeks. It is possible for lifestyle changes to change cholesterol levels within weeks. However, it may take longer,

• Total cholesterol: less than 200 milligrams per deciliter
• LDL bad cholesterol: less than 100 mg/dL
• HDL good cholesterol: higher than 60 mg/dL
• Triglycerides: less than 150 mg/dL

According to an article in the journal Circulation, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association recommend using statins to lower cholesterol in people with cholesterol higher outside of these levels.

However, they also recommend doctors consider a persons cholesterol levels and overall risk of cardiovascular disease before prescribing a cholesterol-lowering medication.

The AHA recommends that people with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease get high-intensity statin therapy maximally tolerated statin therapy to lower LDL by at least 50%.

The AHA also recommends high-intensity statin therapy for individuals with severe primary hypercholesterolemia .

There are a number of habit changes a person can incorporate into their daily routines in order to gradually and consistently lower their LDL levels over time. Including:

Mechanism Accounting For The Omega

While not the primary mechanism for the decrease in plasma TGs, studies have shown that omega-3-fatty acids may increase the clearance of TG rich lipoproteins . Post heparin lipoprotein lipase activity is not increased by omega-3-fatty acid administration but the lipolytic activity of non-stimulated plasma is enhanced . Additionally, apolipoprotein C-III levels are decreased with omega-3-fatty acid administration which could also contribute to an increase in the clearance of TG rich lipoproteins .

The increase in LDL-C levels that occurs in patients with marked hypertriglyceridemia treated with omega-3-fatty acids is thought to be due to the enhanced conversion of VLDL to LDL .

Prepare Your Food A Little Differently

Its not only what you eat its how you eat it. Just as you can change what you buy in the grocery store, you can also choose healthier ways to make your food that help lower your cholesterol naturally. For example:

• Consider trimming fat and removing the skin when cooking meat or fish. This helps you get the protein while reducing fat intake.
• Focus on boiling, broiling, baking, poaching or grilling. These are better methods of preparation than deep frying or breading, which can add extra fat.

You May Like: How Can I Reduce My Triglyceride Level

You May Like: How To Improve Your Cholesterol

Lowering Triglycerides Without Medication

Unless your triglycerides are extremely high, lifestyle changes are the best place to start. These simple steps can significantly lower triglyceride levels.

• Beware of bad fats. Cutting back on saturated fat and trans fats can lower triglycerides.
• Go for good carbs. Easily digested carbohydrates give triglycerides a definite boost. Eating whole grains and cutting back on soda can help control triglycerides.
• Check your alcohol use. In some people, alcohol dramatically boosts triglycerides. The only way to know if this is true for you is to avoid alcohol for a few weeks and have your triglycerides tested again.
• Go fish. Omega-3 fats in salmon, tuna, sardines, and other fatty fish can lower triglycerides. Having fish twice a week is fine.
• Aim for a healthy weight. If you are overweight, losing just 5% to 10% of your weight can help drive down triglycerides.
• Get moving. Exercise lowers triglycerides and boosts heart-healthy HDL cholesterol.
• Stop smoking. It isnt good for triglyceride levels or for anything else.

About the Author

Gregory Curfman, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Former Editor-in-Chief, Harvard Health Publishing

Limit Your Added Sugar

You know that too much of the sweet stuff is bad news, and thats definitely the case here. When youre eating sugary foods, its easy to end up chowing down on more calories than your body needs.

The excess will be turned into triglycerides, which can lead to serious trouble:One 15-year study found that people who got 25 percent of their calories from sugar were twice as likely to die from heart disease as those who ate significantly less.

The American Heart Association recommends that women consume no more than 6 teaspoons and men consume no more than 9 teaspoons of added sugar per day.

Don’t Miss: What Is The Lowest Your Cholesterol Should Be

Increase Your Intake Of Unsaturated Fats

Studies show that monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can reduce blood triglyceride levels, especially when theyre replacing carbs in your diet .

Monounsaturated fats are found in foods like olive oil, nuts, and avocados. Polyunsaturated fats are present in vegetable oils and fatty fish, as well as nuts and seeds such as walnuts, flaxseeds, and chia seeds.

A 2019 review of 27 studies reported that while olive oil consumption does decrease triglycerides levels, it does so significantly less than other types of plant oil .

One older study analyzed the diets of 452 adults in a specific population of Indigenous people in Alaska over the previous 24 hours.

It found that saturated fat intake was associated with increased blood triglycerides, while polyunsaturated fat intake was associated with lower triglyceride levels .

To maximize the triglyceride-lowering benefits of unsaturated fats, pick a heart-healthy fat like olive oil and use it to replace other types of fat in your diet, such as trans fats or highly processed vegetable oils .

Summary

Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can decrease blood triglyceride levels, especially when theyre consumed in place of other fats.

Quickest Way To Lower Triglycerides

Added sugar is a big part of many peoples diets.

While the American Heart Association recommends consuming no more than 100150 calories of added sugar per day, one study found that the average American eats about 308 calories of added sugar daily .

Added sugar is commonly found in sweets, soft drinks, and fruit juice.

Extra sugar in your diet may be turned into triglycerides, which can lead to an increase in blood triglyceride levels, along with other heart disease risk factors.

A 2020 review that included data on 6,730 people found that those who consumed sugar-sweetened beverages regularly were over 50% more likely to have high triglycerides, compared with those who did not drink them regularly .

Another study found that consuming high amounts of added sugar is also associated with higher blood triglyceride levels in children .

Fortunately, several studies have shown that low carb diets can lead to a decrease in blood triglyceride levels .

Even a simple change such as replacing sugar-sweetened beverages with water could decrease triglycerides in some people .

Summary

Minimizing added sugar in your diet from sugary beverages and sweets can reduce your blood triglyceride levels.

You May Like: When Should You Use Statins For Cholesterol

When Do Raised Triglycerides Occur

The level of triglycerides in the bloodstream rises following a meal. The amount of fat consumed will determine the rise in triglyceride levels. In order to avoid rises in circulating triglyceride levels, it is advisable to spread intake of dietary fat throughout the day. Triglycerides can be raised as a secondary effect of conditions such as poorly controlled diabetes or obesity. Controlling these can often result in lowering of triglyceride levels. Obesity exacerbates all forms of high triglycerides.

Read Also: What Not To Eat For High Ldl Cholesterol

Taking Supplements To Lower Triglycerides

The data show that diet and exercise are practical approaches for lowering triglycerides. However, for some people, lifestyle changes may not be enough. In that case, it may be worth discussing supplements with your healthcare provider.

Disclaimer:

Heres a list of possible choices.36

• Niacin: 2,000 to 3,000 mg per day37
• Berberine: 500 mg twice daily38
• Fish oil: Eicosapentaenoic acid 2 to 4 grams per day 39
• Curcumin: 80 to 100 mg daily40
• Fenugreek: 10 grams per day41

Read Also: Is Eating Shrimp Good For Cholesterol

Avoid Refined And Processed Foods

You gain a large number of calories from foods that are rich in carbohydrates. However, the carbohydrates you get from refined and processed foods are unhealthy. It is because once consumed, they get easily converted into sugar and lead to a rise in triglyceride. Some common sources of processed foods include rice, pasta and white bread.

Do High Triglyceride Levels Affect Hdl And Cholesterol Levels

Triglycerides are involved in the transport of fatty acids to muscles and tissues for energy.

• HDL particles are involved in the transport of excess fatty acids from the periphery back to the liver for elimination. Because of these competing roles, it is very difficult to increase HDL, the healthy good cholesterol, without first addressing triglycerides.
• HDL not only transports excess lipid to the liver for disposal, but it also transports cholesterol to organs such as the adrenals, ovaries, and testes for steroid hormone synthesis.
• Many of the strategies discussed here that lower triglycerides are also known to raise HDL.

Health Solutions From Our Sponsors

Medically Reviewed on 5/6/2022Journal of Microbiology and BiotechnologyPoultry ScienceCirculationEuropean Journal of Clinical NutritionCanadian Journal of Physiology and PharmacologyPhysiological Research

You May Like: What Is A Good Non Hdl Cholesterol Number

Read Also: What Are High Levels Of Triglycerides

Make Healthy Diet Switches

High levels of triglycerides â a type of fat in your blood â can raise your risk of heart disease, according to Mayo Clinic, making it key to keep triglycerides in check. And to help bust high triglyceride levels, healthy lifestyle choices are crucial, Mayo Clinic says.

“Lifestyle-change therapies such as diet and exercise are not an overnight fix, but the good news is that triglycerides are very responsive to these lifestyle changes, and you can see a drop in triglycerides in a matter of days,” says New York-based registered dietitian Katrina Hartog, MPH, RD, director of clinical nutrition at Mount Sinai West. “Furthermore, over the course of a year, intensive lifestyle strategies can reduce triglycerides by more than 50 percent.”

Keeping a food diary and tackling areas in your diet such as sugar intake are good places to start, Hartog says. She says to “limit foods high in added sugar,” like:

Fruits and vegetables are key food groups that can help lower triglycerides as well, Hartog says. “Have you heard of eating the rainbow? no time better than now to include color-rich fruits and vegetables,” she says. “Aim for 2 to 3 cups of vegetables and 1 cup of fruit.”

Choosing healthy sources of fat is also an important step in lowering triglycerides, according to Mayo Clinic.

According to Hartog, other healthy fat sources include:

Top Foods To Help Lower Triglyceride Levels

3 ).

Diet plays a major role in the production of triglycerides in your body. Certain foods may even help lower your blood levels.

Here are 8 top foods that may help lower triglyceride levels.

5 ).

Daily intakes of at least 25 grams of soy protein were most effective at lowering these fats in the blood .

Soybeans, edamame, tofu, and tempeh are excellent sources of isoflavones, a health-promoting compound linked to reduced triglycerides, weight management, and improved menopause symptoms .

Fermented soy products like natto and tempeh have a higher nutritional value than unfermented soy. When used to replace sources of animal protein, they have a potent triglyceride-lowering effect .

You May Like: Best Supplements For High Triglycerides

Ways To Lower Triglycerides

Candy, cookies, pies, pastries, ice cream, frozen yogurt, puddings, fat free desserts , fruit juice, other sweet beverages, such as soda, sweetened iced tea, iced coffee beverages, lemonade, fruit punch, sports drinks, energy drinks. Also limit added sugar of any kind, syrup, and honey.

White bread, bagels, pita, etc, white rice, white pasta, white flour in any product, pretzels, rice cakes, ready-to-eat cereals made with white flour.

• INSTEAD: use whole grain breads, cereals, and pasta, and increase fiber intake.
• Old fashioned or steel cut oats are great choices, as are brown rice, quinoa, wheat berries, amaranth, and other whole grains.
• Choose legumes often chickpeas, lentils, pinto beans, kidney beans, black beans, etc.
• Note: eating too much of any high-carbohydrate food will contribute to high triglycerides

Choose foods rich in omega 3 fatty acids, and monounsaturated fats :

• Fatty fish: salmon, mackerel, sardines, tuna, trout, bluefish, herring, swordfish. Eat at least 2 servings per week limit albacore tuna and swordfish.
• Flaxseed oil and ground flaxseed , walnuts, soy products such as tofu and soy milk, dark leafy greens
• Other nuts and seeds are also good almonds, pecans, pistachios, cashews, sunflower seeds, etc.

Maintain a healthy weight, or lose weight if needed.

• You may be surprised that even a modest weight loss can greatly reduce your TGs, cholesterol, and heart disease risk.

Avoid trans-fatty acids in processed foods

Limit saturated fats

Know The Dangers Of Trans Fats

Trans fats are dangerous for your heart, because they raise low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride levels. The chief culprit youll see on product labels is partially hydrogenated oil. Trans fats are the result of adding hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to increase shelf life. This may make some baked and fried foods taste better, but trans fats are very unhealthy, particularly for people with high triglycerides. In fact, trans fats should make up less than 1 percent of your total calories, according to the World Health Organization. Check your food labels: If a food contains trans fats or hydrogenated oils, leave it on the shelf.

Read Also: Diet To Lower Triglycerides And Ldl

A Promising New Treatment For High Triglycerides

• By Gregory Curfman, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Former Editor-in-Chief, Harvard Health Publishing

When you think about fat circulating in the bloodstream, you might immediately think of cholesterol. But theres another type of fat you shouldnt ignore: triglycerides. As with cholesterol, high triglycerides can also increase the risk of having a heart attack. Existing drugs for lowering triglycerides arent that good at reducing heart attack risk. Thats why a report on a new way to lower triglycerides, New England Journal of Medicine, is generating some excitement among cardiologists.

My Cholesterol Is Normal But My Triglycerides Are High: Why Is That

So both your HDL and LDL levels are where they should be, but your triglycerides are still high why is that?

Triglycerides become elevated due to excess calories that do not get burned off, and in turned get stored in fat cells. Statins are medications that primarily lower LDL cholesterol, but depending on the medication dose, can lower Triglycerides from 20 to 40 percent, Sai Hanumanthu MD, with the TriHealth Heart Institute explains.

There are steps you can take to lower your triglyceride levels while promoting good cardiovascular health, including:

• Losing 5 to 10 pounds if overweight
• Avoiding alcohol
• Avoiding foods high in saturated fats
• Limiting simple carbs that have high processed sugars .
• Participating in 30 minutes of exercise per day

All these suggestions and routine follow up with a medical professional will lower you triglyceride level, even despite a low total cholesterol, Dr. Hanumanthu says.

Read Also: Mussels And Cholesterol

You May Like: Which Component In The Accompanying Figure Is Cholesterol

Maintain A Moderate Weight

Maintaining or achieving a moderate weight that is within the BMI range recommended by doctors can help lower cholesterol, while also reducing other heart disease risks.

A person should focus on achieving and maintaining a moderate weight with a combination of healthy eating and lots of physical activity, as both of these can also lower cholesterol.

Recommended Reading: Can You Have Clogged Arteries With Normal Cholesterol

Effect Of Volanesorsen On Lipid And Lipoprotein Levels

FAMILIAL CHYLOMICRONEMIA SYNDROME

A double-blind, randomized 52-week trial evaluated the ability of volanesorsen vs. placebo to decrease TG levels in 66 patients with FCS . The primary end point was the percentage change in fasting TG levels at 3 months. As expected, there was a marked reduction in Apo C-III levels in the volanesorsen group and a small increase in the placebo group. Most importantly patients treated with volanesorsen had a 77% decrease at 3 months in TG levels whereas patients receiving placebo had an 18% increase in TG levels. The decrease in TGs in patients treated with volanesorsen persisted for 52 weeks . Significantly, 77% of the patients in the volanesorsen group vs. only 10% of patients in the placebo group had TG levels of less than 750 mg/dl, a level that would greatly reduce the risk of pancreatitis. In addition, patients who received volanesorsen had decreases in levels of chylomicron TG by 83%, apolipoprotein B-48 by 76%, nonHDL-C by 46%, and VLDL-C by 58% and increases in levels of HDL-C by 46%, apolipoprotein A1 by 14%, LDL-C by 136% , and total apolipoprotein B by 20%.

HYPERTRIGLYCERIDEMIA

DIABETES

Don’t Miss: Does Metamucil Really Lower Cholesterol

How To Quickly Lower Your Triglycerides

You might be wondering what are triglycerides and how do I know if mine are too high?Triglycerides are a type of fat found in our blood that our bodies use for energy. Having a healthy number of triglycerides can be very beneficial in maintaining good health however, when your triglyceride levels get too high, your health may be at risk.

What kind of risk are we talking about?Your triglycerides are measured through simple blood testing. A count of 150 and lower has been commonly referred to as a normal level amount. If you fall in between 200 and 500, your levels are commonly referred to as high or very high. Its at this level that your body becomes more vulnerable to increased risk of metabolic syndrome and heart disease. Regularly consuming more calories than you burn, consuming a lot of alcohol, and poorly-managed diabetes are a few of the causes of high triglyceride levels.

If you are over the age of 18, have high triglyceride levels and feel like youre out of options, a new 12-week research study at FMC Science may be an option for you. If you qualify for this study, all participants will be seen by a board certified physician get paid for time & travel all study medication, exams & tests will be paid at no cost to you-NO OUT OF POCKET COSTS! No insurance is required to participate! To learn more call FMC Science at 512-556-4130 or click below.