Your triglyceride levels should be low rather than high to reduce the risk of developing coronary heart disease or metabolic syndrome, which is a combination of symptoms such as high blood pressure, high glucose, carrying excess weight around your middle, low levels of HDL cholesterol or high triglycerides. Although your doctor may prescribe medication to lower your triglyceride level, he will likely ask you to change the lifestyle factors that may be contributing to a high triglyceride level.
Testing Triglyceride Levels
Testing for triglycerides in your blood is a simple blood test. Your doctor may order a complete fasting lipid panel, which tests for total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density-lipoprotein and low-density-lipoprotein levels, according to the American Heart Association. The lower your triglyceride levels, the better. Your doctor likely wants your triglyceride level to be less than 150 mg/dL. Between 150 and 199 mg/dL is borderline-high, 200 to 499 mg/dL is high, and if your triglycerides are above 500 mg/dL, they are very high. At the same time, your doctor generally looks for total cholesterol lower than 200, and HDL cholesterol higher than 50 mg/dL for women and greater than 40 mg/dL for men. Your LDL cholesterol should be less than 129 mg/dL.
What Are Triglycerides?
Triglycerides are a type of fat in your blood that you get from foods you eat. As your body processes the carbohydrates and food in your diet, the calories your body does not need change into triglycerides. The triglycerides stay in the fat stores in your body until your body needs the fat for energy, according to the American Heart Association.
Causes of High Triglycerides
As you get older, your triglyceride levels tend to rise. In addition to age, being overweight is a cause of higher triglyceride levels. Diets high in unhealthy fats, such as those found in beef, many restaurant meals and processed foods, contribute to high triglycerides. If you are on certain medications, such as beta blockers, your doctor may monitor your triglyceride levels to ensure that the levels are not rising due to medication. If you have none of the risk factors for high triglycerides, but still suffer from high triglycerides, your doctor may examine your family history or test for certain diseases.
Strategies to Lower Triglycerides
If you have high triglycerides and are overweight, the first step to improve your levels is to lose weight. Lose weight by cutting back on alcohol, eliminating most saturated fats from your diet, reducing your caloric intake and exercising regularly. Exercise is particularly important. A quantitative analysis published in the journal "Sports Medicine" in December 2001 verified that exercising and burning between 1,200 and 2,200 calories each week significantly lowers triglyceride levels. Taking a three-mile walk five days a week meets this requirement.
References
- National Institutes of Health: Metabolic Syndrome; April 2010
- American Heart Association: What Your Cholesterol Levels Mean
- American Heart Association: Triglycerides
- MayoClinic.com: High Blood Pressure (Hypertension): Beta Blockers
- AdisOnline.com; Blood Lipid and Lipoprotein Adaptations to Exercise: A Quantitative Analysis; Larry J. Durstine, et al.; December 2001
