High levels of triglycerides in your bloodstream put you at risk for heart attacks and strokes. Diet and lifestyle affect the amount of triglycerides stored in your fat cells. High-density lipoprotein, also known as the "good" cholesterol, helps your body eliminate triglycerides. Improve your heart health by maintaining a healthy balance--ratio--between triglycerides and HDL cholesterol.
Healthy Triglyceride and HDL Levels
You want to keep your triglycerides low and your HDL cholesterol high. Triglyceride levels below 150mg/dl--milligrams per deciliter of blood--and HDL cholesterol above 60 mg/dl rank as healthy. Aim to keep your triglycerides below 100mg/dl for optimal heart health, according to the American Heart Association. Triglycerides that measure more than 200mg/dl put you at high risk of heart attack and levels above 500mg/dl put you at very high risk. Women face additional cardiovascular health risks if their HDL cholesterol falls below 50mg/dl, men if below 40mg/dl.
Triglyceride-HDL Cholesterol Ratio
Strive for a triglyceride-HDL ratio of less than 2:l. This means that your triglycerides should not total more than twice your HDL cholesterol. If your triglycerides measure 100mg/dl and your HDL cholesterol is 50mg/dl, this would give you a 2:1 ratio--100 divided by 50 equals 2. Higher ratios signal potential for heart problems. A 4:1 ratio is high and a 6:1 is very high. If your triglycerides measure 200mg/dl and your HDL cholesterol is 50mg/dl, this would give you a 4:1 ratio. Triglyceride levels of 300mg/dl and an HDL of 50md/dl provides a 6:1 ratio.
Importance of Balance
Your HDL cholesterol scavenges your bloodstream for triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein, LDL or "bad" cholesterol. It removes as many triglyceride and LDL cholesterol deposits as it can and ships them to your liver for disposal. But your HDL cholesterol can't function properly when the ratio of triglycerides to HDL moves beyond 2:1. When your HDL cholesterol becomes greatly outnumbered by triglycerides, your risk of developing cardiovascular disease increases. Diet and exercise can help you achieve a healthy balance.
American Heart Association Guidelines
The American Heart Association recommends a triglyceride-lowering diet that limits consumption of saturated fat to 16g a day and trans fat to 2g daily. The AHA diet also restricts calories obtained from foods with added sugar to 100 per day for women and 150 per day for men. Adding exercise can help lower your triglycerides and boost your HDL cholesterol. Aim to include 150 minutes of moderate exercise in your weekly routine. Brisk walking counts as moderate exercise.
