Your body works hard to eliminate triglycerides from your bloodstream. However, if you exercise too little and eat too much -- especially too many fatty and sugary foods -- your body may not properly process the overload. Triglycerides could rise to dangerous levels, putting you at high risk for developing heart disease. A triglyceride-cleansing diet will reduce your intake of sugar and fat to heart-friendly levels.
Triglyceride Cleansing Diet
Your high-lipoprotein cholesterol -- HDL or "good" cholesterol -- pulls triglycerides out of your bloodstream and ships them off to your liver for disposal. Ideally, your HDL cholesterol keeps your triglyceride levels below 100 mg/dl -- milligrams per deciliter of blood. If your triglycerides rise above 200 mg/dl, putting you at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease, you may need to adopt dietary measures to assist with the cleansing process.
AHA Guidelines
The American Heart Association, AHA, recommends a diet and exercise program it says can reduce your triglycerides 50 percent. The diet includes up to 16 g of saturated fat, up to 2 g of trans fat, up to 150 calories from sugar-added food and drink and 50 g to 100 g of fructose. To reduce saturated fat, eat more fish and chicken and less red meat and cheese. To lower trans fat, do not cook with margarine or shortening. Some soft drinks and baked goods may contain more than a day's supply of sugar. Most fruit contains little fructose, but you should moderate your consumption of dried fruit and extra-sweet fruit such as pineapple.
Sample Menu
A sample menu that would fit within the AHA guidelines for a triglyceride-cleansing diet might look like this: a breakfast that includes a bowl of mixed berries topped with non-fat plain yogurt with a slice of dry multi-grain toast; a lunch that features a spinach salad topped with tomatoes, strawberries, sun-dried tomatoes, green peppers and slices of skinless grilled chicken tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette dressing; a dinner that includes ham, baked sweet potato, green beans and a strawberry-banana smoothie for dessert; and snacks such as plain, air-popped popcorn, almonds, pumpkin seeds or celery sticks with peanut butter.
Considerations
If you drink alcohol, you should limit your daily consumption, especially if your triglycerides top 500 mg/dl. You should exercise 30 minutes a day at least five days a week. If you weigh more than you should, shedding pounds can help lower your triglyceride levels. These measures will also help you lower your triglycerides as well as your low-density lipoprotein -- "bad" cholesterol, according to the AHA. Changes in diet and lifestyle can also help elevate your high-density lipoprotein, or "good" cholesterol.
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