You can lose weight and protect your heart health with a triglyceride diet plan. You restrict sugar and artery-clogging fats and eat more whole grains and vegetables. This naturally reduces your calorie intake.The American Heart Association says dietary changes can reduce your triglycerides by up to 50 percent.
Cholesterol and Triglycerides
A cholesterol test reveals information about three types of fatty substances in your bloodstream: low density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein and triglycerides. Your LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, and triglycerides can accumulate in your arteries, making it more difficult for blood to travel to your heart and other vital organs. Your HDL, the "good" cholesterol, removes LDL and triglycerides from your bloodstream and ship them off to your liver for disposal. A diet high in fat and sugar makes it difficult for your HDL cholesterol to adequately protect you against heart disease.
Reduce Sugar Consumption
Aim to keep your triglyceride levels below 100 to 150 mg/dL -- milligrams per deciliter of blood. If you eat a lot of sugar -- and this includes honey, molasses and fructose, as well as table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup -- your triglycerides may reach dangerous levels of 500 mg/dL or more. The American Heart Association recommends that women keep their sugar calories to 100 per day and men to 150 calories per day. This means drinking no more than three cans of regular soda a week and saying goodbye to most commercial baked goods and sweet snacks, including granola bars. The AHA also suggests you choose your fruits carefully, opting for varieties such as cantaloupe and bananas that will help you keep fructose intake to 50 g to 100 g daily.
Reduce Dietary Fat
You should also limit the amount of saturated fat and trans fat in your diet. Eat more fish and vegetable protein and fewer hamburgers and steaks to keep your saturated fat intake between 16 g and 22 g daily. You should consume very little trans fat -- no more than 2 g a day. Stop using margarine and shortening at home and read nutrition labels before buying processed foods. Good choices of protein low in saturated fat include plain, nonfat yogurt, lobster, skinless chicken and salmon. Olive oil makes a heart-healthy substitute for margarine.
Menu Ideas
If you're looking for menu ideas that incorporate the triglyceride-reducing guidelines, consider a bowl of high-fiber cereal topped with berries and nonfat milk or whole-wheat toast with peanut butter and banana slices for breakfast. Good lunch options include barbecued beans over brown rice, a turkey and vegetable sandwich on seven-grain bread or a salad topped with strawberries, pecans and grilled chicken. For dinner, consider a vegetable and beef stir fry, whole-grain pasta in marinara sauce or grilled salmon served with wild rice and broccoli.
References
- American Heart Association; Dietary, Lifestyle Changes Can Significantly Reduce Triglyceride; April 2011
- MayoClinic.com; High Cholesterol; June 2010
- MayoClinic.com; Healthy Diet: End the Guesswork With These Nutrition Guidelines; February 2011
- University of California San Francisco Medical Center; Cholesterol Content of Foods; February 2011
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