What is triglyceride?
Most of you are familiar with cholesterol but few people know of triglyceride and its importance to our health. In this article, you are going to find the most important learning points about elevated blood triglyceride, its prevention and management.
Triglycerides are associated with higher risk of heart attack and stroke. They are absorbed from food and also produced in the body. These particles are dedicated to transporting fat around the body.
How to lower triglyceride level
Several interventions can reduce the blood triglyceride level but the first step in this process should be to identify the cause of the elevation. The worsening of the triglyceride level is because of an unbalanced nutrition, lack of exercises, medications, metabolism or excessive alcohol intake. After understanding the source of the problem, a plan for managing the condition can be put together.
Dietary changes
In most cases, dietary modifications are the foundation of the management. High carbohydrate intake can result in elevated blood triglyceride levels. The body can tolerate and process only so much of carbohydrates, and if the body’s capacity to deal with the amount of carbohydrates is crossed over constantly, then the whole metabolic system becomes less efficient.
Limiting alcohol intake is important as well. We know that alcohol can raise the triglyceride level. How much alcohol you could or should drink depends on your lipid profile, and your body’s ability to take care of the consumed alcohol. Generally, it is recommended to limit the alcohol intake to one drink for women and 2 drinks for men.
Trans-fatty acids are other contributing factor to the elevation of this particle. You find these fatty acids in cakes, bakery shortening and stick margarines. Reducing trans-fatty acid consumption by 1% could reduce the blood triglyceride level by 1%,
Physical activity
It is well known that exercise can help reduce the triglyceride levels, but physical activity alone without nutritional and dietary modifications won’t go far. So if you want to be successful you need a more comprehensive approach combining moderate to intensive physical activity (around 150 minutes per week) with a well thought-out nutritional plan.
Triglycerides range
The recommended range of blood triglyceride levels is below 150 mg/dl. Patients who have a blood triglyceride level of 200 mg/dl or above are at a higher risk for inflammation of their arteries.
Fish oil and omega 3 fatty acids
Studies suggest that consumption of omega 3 fatty acids found in fish and fish oil can reduce the blood triglyceride levels by 20 to 30%.
The American Heart Association recommends 2-4 g of long-chained fatty acids called eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) plus docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Prior to taking this amount of fish oil, I recommend discussing it with your physician because fish oil may interfere with your other medications and also might result in adverse effects such as thinner blood and upset stomach.
Metabolic syndrome
First let us talk about what metabolism is. Metabolism is the totality of all chemical processes that maintains the health of body cells. It is important for a healthier body to have a functional metabolism, if the above processes run slow or not at all then entire functionality of our body decreases too.
Metabolic syndrome refers to a group of risk factors that is shown to increase your risk of having heart attack and stroke.
Here is the list,
High blood triglyceride level
High blood pressure
High blood sugar
Low HDL (High Density Lipoprotein)
Large waistline
To be diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, you must have at least three of the above five conditions.
Insulin resistance
This condition can increase your risk of having metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance or insensitivity is when the body cannot process the insulin appropriately and builds a resistance to this vital hormone.
Causes of elevated triglycerides
Many medical conditions, foods and medications could raise the blood triglyceride levels. It is important to recognize the source(s) of these problems early in order to control levels of blood triglyceride early.
Here is a list of the most important causes of high blood triglycerides:
Genes (family history)
Diabetes
High blood sugar levels (pre-diabetes)
Alcohol
Pregnancy
Obesity
Kidney failure
Low thyroid function (hypothyroidism)
Drugs
Beta-blockers (eg, atenolol, metoprolol)
Estrogen
Tamoxifen
Steroids (eg, prednisone)
HIV medications (eg, protease inhibitors)
My analysis and opinion,
The number of individuals with elevated blood triglyceride levels is growing steadily. Most people, including medical professionals, emphasize the dangers of high blood cholesterol levels but forget to discuss the ramifications of elevated triglycerides. Studies suggest that elevated triglyceride is directly associated with increased risk of heart attack.
There are great and effective ways to prevent and treat high triglycerides levels without requiring medications (if it is done early).
In my opinion everybody must know about his or her blood triglyceride level and if elevated, create a comprehensive plan to manage this condition. This early intervention may help you prevent other major health issues in the future such as heart attack and diabetes.
So what are you waiting for?
The post What is Triglyceride and How to Lower it Effectively? appeared first on TheMedCircle- Dr.Daneschvar.