How To Lower Your Triglycerides With Lifestyle Changes

Understanding High Triglycerides

Are Triglycerides Cholesterol?

First, let’s start with the understanding that triglycerides aren’t cholesterol. Though they are both lipids, they aren’t the same.

The difference comes in their texture, ability to mix with blood, and uses. Cholesterol doesn’t mix with blood or dissolve in it. It mixes with triglycerides and lipoproteins for circulation around the body.

Triglycerides are fats, while cholesterol is a waxy substance. Cholesterol is used in hormone production, digestion, the nervous system, and cell wall formation, while triglycerides provide energy for the body.

Cholesterol is made in the liver, while triglycerides are made mainly from the food we eat and are also available in the liver. They are then stored in fat cells and under the skin but circulate within the body.

The only similarity besides being fats is that high cholesterol and triglycerides can lead to detrimental health issues.

High Levels Triglycerides

So, what are high levels of triglycerides, you ask? Let’s look at normal and high triglyceride levels to help you gain an in-depth understanding.

Triglyceride levels are measured in milligrams of triglycerides per deciliter of blood (mg/dl). Healthy adults should have a standard range of under 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/d/) triglycerides.

You enter a mild high borderline zone when you have 150-199 milligrams per deciliter of triglycerides.

Your triglycerides are moderately high, with a 200-499 milligram reading per deciliter.

You become more susceptible to chronic disease when your triglycerides are at 500 and above milligrams per deciliter of triglycerides.

Higher levels of triglyceride levels in your body put you in a health state known as hypertriglyceridemia. It increases inflammation, which heightens the risk of pancreatitis and other conditions, including hypertension, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, and stroke.

Causes of High Triglycerides

Several factors contribute to high triglyceride levels in the body. Let’s have a look at them below:

1. Poor Diet: The liver converts surplus calories from fatty foods and refined sugars into triglycerides. Many people face this challenge when choosing convenience foods over healthier options.
2. Sedentary Lifestyle: Our bodies store unused energy as triglycerides when we don't move enough. Modern desk jobs and screen time often contribute to this growing problem.
3. Excess Alcohol: Regular drinking pushes the liver to produce more triglycerides and harmful cholesterol. Even moderate alcohol intake can impact your blood fat levels significantly.
4. Smoking: The harmful chemicals in cigarettes block your body from processing fats properly. Smokers often show higher triglyceride readings during routine blood tests.
5. Medical Conditions: Your body might produce extra triglycerides due to common health issues. Several prescription medications can raise these levels as an unwanted side effect.
6. Other Factors: Your age, life stage, and family health history play important roles. Natural changes like pregnancy or menopause can affect how your body handles fats.

Lifestyle Changes to Lower High Triglycerides

As we’ve seen, high blood triglyceride levels can put people at risk for chronic diseases. Therefore, you must take action to lower them in the long run and improve one's health and quality of life.

Let’s have a look at these simple yet effective lifestyle changes that will lower your triglycerides:

• Exercise Regularly: Physical exercise improves triglyceride metabolism, which means that sugar, fat, and excess calories are efficiently used. Exercise helps the body use stored-up energy, lowering triglyceride levels in the blood.
• Eat Healthy: Limit highly processed foods with saturated fats, as these convert to more triglycerides. Choose wholesome meals with natural healthy fats, such as nuts and fruits like avocado.

Eating healthy also includes foods with excellent fiber content, vegetables, and whole foods low in calories and sugar.

An expert review in Harvard Health Journal states,

If people with high triglycerides eat a healthier diet, exercise regularly, and lose weight, they can lower their levels by more than 50%,

according to Dr. Nicholas Marston, a preventive cardiologist at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.
• Cut Back On Alcohol And Cigarettes: Minimize or eliminate the use of the two as we’ve seen they are not only harmful to your health but also increase triglyceride levels and put your health at risk.
• Manage Your Health Conditions: Take charge of your health by managing your health issues, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney disease, and any other that you may have.

Consult your healthcare practitioner and nutritionist to determine if medications will support your diet and minimize the risk of increasing triglycerides in your blood.

Individuals with a higher risk of chronic conditions such as stroke and heart attack may need medication to lower triglyceride levels in their bodies. You’ll also need professional help to identify which drugs to use. Kindly consult with your doctor for further assistance and prescription.

• Increase Omega-3 Fatty Acids Intake: Omega-3 fatty acids from salmon sardines mackerel as well as flaxseeds chia seeds and walnuts enable triglyceride level reduction through better fat metabolism while decreasing inflammation.

People who have elevated triglycerides should consider using fish oil supplements together with algae-based omega-3 supplements as part of their management strategy.

• Practice Portion Control & Mindful Eating: Portions of food must remain under control because consuming excess calories from healthy food leads to triglyceride formation within the body.

Through careful serving size management along with consuming fewer meals, people can maintain healthy triglyceride concentrations while avoiding weight increases.

• Reduce Added Sugar Intake: The body rapidly changes all the sugar from sweet drinks and processed foods together with dessert items into triglycerides.

Included in a healthy diet should be a reduction of added sugars with the use of stevia along with eating whole fruits instead of sugary foods to effectively handle triglyceride levels.

• Prioritize Sleep and Manage Stress: Controlling your sleep schedule and stress management play essential roles in preventing metabolisms from being negatively affected which leads to high triglyceride levels.

The practice of creating regular sleep patterns coupled with relaxation exercises including mindfulness techniques and yoga along with deep breathing exercises will support heart health while controlling triglyceride balance.