Triglycerides are fats that circulate in your body. Triglycerides are necessary for body functions, but an excess of triglycerides in your bloodstream is a leading factor in atherosclerosis, according to the "University of Southern California Health Magazine." Atherosclerosis, or the buildup of fatty plaques in the walls of blood vessels, leads to coronary heart disease. If your annual health exam reveals high triglycerides, you will want to change your diet.
Low-Fat Foods
Triglyceride is a fat that always circulates in the blood, especially after a meal high in saturated fat, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. To lower your triglyceride level, choose lean meat and eat smaller servings, 3 to 4 ounces per serving. Avoid fried food, take the skin off poultry, choose low-fat cheese and limit a serving of cheese to 1 ounce Eat more Omega-3 fats, found in mackerel, salmon, sardines, tuna, tilapia, fish oil supplements, soy foods, canola oil, flax seeds and walnuts. Omega-3 can also be taken in supplement form.
Low-Sugar Foods
Excess calories are stored in the body as fat, and contribute to excess triglycerides. Low-fat foods often have more sugar to make the food taste better, making them high-calorie foods. Choose foods that have less than 8 g sugar per serving. Sucrose, glucose, fructose, corn syrup, maltose, honey, molasses and high-fructose corn syrup, or HFCS are all forms of sugar. On the nutrition label, if the first ingredient is sugar, if two or more sugars are listed, the food is likely to be too sweet.
Low-Calorie Drinks
Eating fewer calories includes limiting calories from alcohol, as alcoholic drinks have few if any necessary nutrients. Avoid high-calorie sweetened drinks, whether cocktails, sodas or fruit juice. Homemade black tea, green tea, herbal tea and coffee, when served without sugar or cream, have virtually no calories. Water, plain or with a twist of lemon, is a refreshing and healthful beverage. Sugar-free soft drinks are low in calories, but the many artificial flavorings and ingredients most contain are not healthful. Look for sugar-free sodas made with natural flavors and natural or no coloring agents in health food stores or the natural section of many supermarkets.
Fiber-Rich Foods
Choose grain products -- cereal, bread, crackers, pasta, rice -- listing or more grams of fiber per serving. Eat five or six servings of vegetables per day, choosing non-starchy vegetables. Limit starchy vegetables to one-half cup per serving, one serving per meal. Eat five or six servings of fruit a day, eating the whole fruit rather than drinking fruit juice.
