High Triglycerides

Forums: Triglycerides, Health, Medical, Hdl, Ldl
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I got blood work back recently that showed high triglycerides. My HDL is very high and my LDL is very low. My glucose is normal.

After fasting for 12 hours my results were
HDL : 85
LDL: 75
TriG: 248 (normal range should be between 70-130 - 150 is considered high)
Glucose, for comparison is fine: 83

Maybe docs are just starting to worry about triglycerides, or are worrying in a different way than previously. I can't find a lot of useful data online about:
1. If the HDL and LDL are good, how much should I worry about the TriG?
2. How sensitive is the TriG test? How much does it change due to circumstances?
3. How do I tease out dietary adjustments for high TriGs from the dietary adjustments recommended for general high glucose (do I still want to cut out my limited saturated fats?)?
4. What are the results of high TriG without high LDL? Diabetes?
5. Should I be following a diabetic diet?
6. Are glycemic values what I should be looking to avoid? Carbohydrates? Sugars?
7. Are there other causes of high TriGs besides diet? (I read birth control hormones and kidney disease can contribute adversely)

Anyone have any ideas? Are there links anyone could share?

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Type: Question • Score: 11 • Views: 21,600 • Replies: 177

@littlek,

Were you fasting?

Not that I know the answer to your question, just throwing that out.

1 Reply

@littlek,

This is the best site for research on triglycerides - meaning numbers only! I don't know medical sites, but you can click here for sources:
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=triglycerides

Yes, your triglyceride number is high, as per their statistical distribution; good luck!

1 Reply

@ossobuco,

Osso, yes.

1 Reply

@High Seas,

Thank you High Seas, I'll go check it out.

OOps, says I can't access it - currently exceding its maximum test load, or something.

1 Reply

@littlek,

littlek, have you had an ekg or a stress test? If not, please do so as Bud's elevated triglycerides were the sole indicator that he had a heart attack.

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Hi littlek,

The biggest impact you can make on your triglyceride levels is by avoiding processed (white) sugar. This is a pretty good article that explains both the clinical implications and methods of reducing serum triglyceride levels.

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@littlek,

Give it a couple of minutes - at this hour net traffic gets gradually switched to Asia: Google was down for an hour also yesterday.

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@littlek,

Last year my TriG levels were around 220 and my Endocrinologist told me
that I am eating too much carbohydrates (which was true). I cut down on
pasta and potatoes and now my levels are around 100 again.

Look here
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400218/triglycerides-too-high.html

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JPB, I eat very little white sugar. I drink coffee black and don't eat sweets daily. Well.... I do eat a luna bar everyday (12 grams of sugar). I call it my vitamin.

Breakfast: 2 slices multigrain (not whole grain) toast with butter and black coffee
Late morning snack: luna bar and/or almonds

Lunch: usually a frozen, vegetarian potpie (does have some potatoe in it) with a whole wheat crust.

Late afternoon snack: almond butter, corn chips and hummus, or a yogurt
Dinner: often pasta with pesto or a frozen vege pizza (problem here!)

Night: I often have a glass or two of unsweetened almond milk. I often have a beer or two (problem here!).

I drink 30+ ounces of plain water per day.

1 Reply

Letty, that's scary!

Cjane, I will be trying to eat fewer carbs, for sure!

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@littlek,

Yes I can see the loads of carbs here:

Try to eat some scrambled eggs on some mornings,
for lunch a salad with feta, anchovies or whatever protein toping would
be better, and as a snack - celery sticks with peanut butter or almond butter
alternating. For dinner vegetables and whole grains - brown rice, etc,
would be much better than pasta or pizza.
Have a tea instead of almond milk at night!

1 Reply

@CalamityJane,

I generally don't give myself time to make breakfast. I could see boiling eggs by the half dozen for eating in the morning. I also just cooked up some whole grain rice - like kashi - with whole barley, oat groats, and split buckwheat groats. I ate them with asparagus and a tofu dog. I tossed a little reduced fat mozzerella cheese on top. I could eat a serving of whole grain mash (cold) for breakfast.

About the almond milk (and this illustrates my misunderstanding, perhaps), it only has 2 grams of carbohydrates per serving. I provides me with my 'milk vitamins' since I can't drink milk. So, do I really want to cut that out?

Of course, teas always good and I do drink tea several days per week.

1 Reply

@littlek,

littlek, you could drink your almond milk in the morning or at lunch -
at night you just cannot digest the carbs as you do during the day.

1 Reply

@CalamityJane,

I could, indeed.

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One thing not discussed (or not in detail, maybe) is exercise. I don't get enough. I don't know if it's advised because losing weight is a good way to lower TriGs, or if exercise itself lowers TriGs. I could lose some weight, but I am still just inside my BMI range for healthy.

1 Reply

@littlek,

littlek, is there a genetic history of high triglycerides, stroke, heart disease in your family? As in the case with cholesterol, sometime the propensity for high triglycerides is genetic in origin. If so, then the best thing to do is nix the beer and perhaps switch to wine. Sugars, carbs, and alcohols are all easily converted to simple sugars which spike insulin production which in turn spikes triglyceride production.

Your HDL is very high. You LDL is very low. Your triglycerides are high which probably means that your pancreas is cranking out the insulin in high quantities to combat the beer, pizza, and pasta.

Pick one or two of those to minimize and you'll most likely be fine.

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JPB, thanks for the connection between the TriGs and insulin. I didn't know of that piece. I'll limit all of them. When I have pizza, I'll have less and eat it as part of a meal. Same with pasta.

I had already started making my own pizzas. I make them with a much thinner crust and found some dough which has a small portion of whole grains in it.

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Oh! Should I be treating all carbs the same? Should I focus more on sugars? Should I be looking at the glycemic value of foods? How do I rate what I eat?

1 Reply

@littlek,

Lowering your triglycerides is easy. You're in good health and your cholesterol numbers are great. You have a lot of carbs (bread, pasta, pizza, beer) in your diet. They all represent sugar. You don't have to eliminate or minimize all of them. Pick one (maybe two) --- I'd suggest either the beer or the frozen/processed lunch and your numbers will probably change dramatically. I once went from a 200+ triglyceride to less than 100 by eliminating processed foods.

Also, a very simple change may be to increase your protein as a percentage of your calories, particularly when you're ingesting simple carbs. This is where GI comes in to play. The sugars from the carbs are slower to digest when they're combined with proteins and/or fats.

2 Replies

High Triglycerides

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