According to the American Heart Association, carbohydrates like starches and simple sugars raise triglyceride levels. Normal levels are less than 150 to 200 mg/dl. If your levels are high, knowing what kind of carbs to eat and what kind to avoid can help you get your levels down fairly quickly. Most changes are simple substitutions that replace foods you usually eat with a different version of that food. In some cases, you will have to scale back on some of your favorite carbohydrate-rich foods, eating them only in moderation.
Step 1
Understand the difference between carbs that will help you lower your triglyceride levels and carbs that will not. The kind of carbohydrates that you are tying to cut back on are starches and simple sugars. Starches are typically white foods, like white rice, potatoes and white bread. Sugars are easy to identify. They are sodas, cookies, cakes and candies.
Step 2
Trade in sweets for fruit. The simple sugars in sweets can raise triglyceride levels quickly. Fruits contain natural sugars combined with fiber, which, according to the University of Massachusetts Medical School, helps lower triglycerides. When you have a craving for something sweet, reach for berries or grapes instead of candy or cookies.
Step 3
Replace white rice with brown rice in all your rice recipes. You can use brown rice in the same way you would use white rice. The only difference is that brown rice still has its fibrous hull attached. This hull contains fiber and nutrients that white rice does not have. Brown rice is slightly chewier than white rice and takes longer to cook. Make batches of it in advance and freeze it for quick meals.
Step 4
Swap out regular white pasta for a low-carb substitute or a whole wheat or whole grain version. These pastas have more fiber than regular white pasta, which slows their effect on blood sugar and triglycerides. Better still, you can replace the pasta altogether by using cooked spaghetti squash or thinly sliced zucchini ribbons.
Step 5
Change breads. The same rule used with sweets and starches applies here. Choose 100 percent whole wheat bread over white bread, and eat that in moderation. While this bread may have similar carbohydrate levels as white bread, the extra fiber makes all the difference.
Step 6
Eat low-fat dairy. Many kinds of low-fat dairy are also low in carbs. Examples are low-fat cheeses, cottage cheese and plain, unsweetened yogurt. These also provide calcium and other essential nutrients important for controlling cholesterol and maintaining heart health. The University of Massachusetts reports that low-fat dairy is also helpful in that it is lower in saturated fat that regular dairy products.
Step 7
Choose lean proteins. Lean proteins include chicken breast, beans, ground turkey, tofu and lean cuts of beef. These foods have little to no carbohydrates. Aim to eat around 3 oz. lean protein at each meal.
