Triglyceride Levels & Causes, Lowering High Triglycerides

Do you have high triglycerides in your blood (elevated blood triglycerides)? Know the causes of high blood triglycerides, and their harmful effect on body. How to lower triglyceride levels? Lowering of your triglycerides is very important.

What is Blood Triglyceride?

A triglyceride is a type of fat. Our blood also has triglyceride that circulates in lipoproteins. The triglyceride is stored as fat in our body. As most of the fats in food are triglycerides, the food we eat affects blood level of triglycerides. When we eat fat, blood triglyceride increases 2-4 times and reaches to its maximum value in about 5 hours after the meal. Our liver also synthesizes triglyceride. The triglyceride concentrations in the blood vary considerably throughout the day, depending upon how much fat is eaten and how fast the body removes fat from the blood. Our bodies make triglycerides from excess carbohydrate in our diet.

Cholesterol and triglycerides are necessary for our life. The triglycerides provide the fuel needed for body cells to function.

The eleveted levels of cholesterol and triglycerides are responsible for hear problems. A research reported in the December 26, 2007 online issue of the medical journal of the American Academy of NeurologyNeurology, people with high triglycerides and elevated "non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol" are more likely to have a stroke than those with low levels of these fats in the blood.

Sources of Blood Triglycerides

1. the food we eat:

   sugar
   animal products
   saturated fats in sweets, red meat, dairy products
   Dietary fats are absorbed through the intestines.

2. manufactured within the body by our liver

Triglyceride Levels

Some people who have high blood cholesterol levels also have high blood triglyceride. If your blood has high blood cholesterol as well as high blood triglyceride, the risk for heart disease is greater than if you only had high triglyceride or only high cholesterol. High triglycerides may be associated with insulin resistance, low HDL cholesterol, high LDL cholesterol, liver disease and obesity.

An overnight fast is necessary to reliably measure blood triglyceride level. The following table gives significance of different triglyderide levels.

The American Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel’s recommendation on fasting blood triglyceride levels in adults (May 2001)

Risk	Triglyceride Level
Normal	Less than 150 mg/dL (1.7 mmol/L)
Borderline-high	150 - 199 mg/dL (1.7–2.3 mmol/L)
High	200 - 499 mg/dL (2.3–5.64 mmol/L)
Very high	More than 500 mg/dL (5.64 mmol/L)

The European guidelines on the fasting blood triglyceride levels in adults

Risk	Triglyceride Level
No risk	Less than 1.7 mmol/L (150.1 mg/dL)
Suspect	1.7 - 2.3 mmol/L (150.1 - 203.1 mg/dL)
Requiring attention/treatment	fasting 1.7 - 2.3 mmol/L (151.1 - 203.1 mg/dL)
Aggressive	2.3 - 4.6 mmol/L (203.1 - 407.1 mg/dL) LDL cholesterol greater than 1.5 mmol/L (58 mg/dL)

Conversion from mmol/L to mg/dL

Serum triglycerides Convert from millimole per liter, mmol/L
Conversion factor multiply by 1/0.01129 = 88.57	to get values in milligrams per deciliter mg/dL	Example 1.90 mmol/L = 1.9 x 88.57 = 168 mg/dL

Normal (Ideal) Triglycerides Level

Ideally the triglycerides in blood should be less than 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). The triglyceride level may be considered high if it is above 150 mg/dL and if you have other risk factors also for heart disease. Very high triglyceride levels may be associated with liver disease.

Causes of High Triglycerides

Basically the reasons for high triglyceride levels are the same as those for high cholesterol levels. You may have high blood triglyceride due to any of the following reasons/causes.

1. Obesity and weight gain

2. type 2 diabetes and/or fluctuations in the blood sugar level.

3. prolonged psychological stress

4. long fasting

5. eating too much refined carbohydrates such as white breads, starches, sugar, candy, honey and other foods high in sugar.

6. a diet providing more than 60% of the energy from carbohydrates.

7. heavy caffeine use, consuming on average 550 mg of caffeine from coffee, tea or Colas, etc. in a day.

8. cigarette smoking

9. excessive intake of high calorie value like fat, alcohol, sugars, etc

10. lack of physical activity, no exercise, sedentary lifestyle

11. any of the diseases like atherosclerosis, inflammation or infection of the pancreas, gout, chronic liver disease, underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism), cystic fibrosis, etc.

12. Some medications like corticosteroids, oral estrogen, ani-inflammatory drugs such as Hydrocortisone, Prednisolone and Prednisone; cholestyramins, intravenous miconazole, spironolactone, Quinapril, some acne medications, etc.

13. Some genetic disorders

How to Reduce or Lower Triglyceride Levels?

The present day research on triglyceride and their effect on health are not complete. More research is needed to provide clearer recommendations. In the meantime one may follow the following:

• Exercising regularly
• Losing weight, if a person is overweight
• Improving control of diabetes
• Limiting alcohol

• Consume less food rich in saturated fats. Avoid coconut oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil, food made with margarines, coffee whiteners and nondairy creamers made with these oils, butter, cream, sour cream, whole milk, cheeses made from whole milk, etc.
  
  Use unsaturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatsin moderatation. Moderately use foods made in like canola oil, safflower oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, olive oil, peanut oil, margarines, mayonnaise, etc.

• Increase dietary fiber intake like brown rice, whole grains, lentils/legumes, beans, vegetables and fruits.

• Reduce intake of sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, jam, jelly, preserves, honey, syrup, molasses, pies, candy, cakes, cookies, pastries, colas, fruit drinks, soft drinks and punches. Sugar in our food goes rapidly to your blood. When there is excess sugar in blood, the liver uses it to make more triglyceride. Use complex carbohydrates like whole breads, rice, potatoes and cereals.