Why Lower Triglycerides?
Lowering triglycerides is important because it may help reduce your risk for coronary heart disease, which is the number 1 cause of death.

Causes of Elevated Triglycerides
While elevated triglycerides have a genetic (inherited) component in many cases, lifestyle choices-in particular, consumption of excess calories and physical inactivity leading to overweight or obesity-frequently play a central role in the disorder. Lifestyle choices may act like a key to "turn on" a genetic susceptibility. In some cases elevated triglycerides may be due to an underlying medical condition or to use of certain prescribed drugs. For many people elevated triglycerides are one part of the metabolic syndrome. Your physician can help you determine possible causes.

Lifestyle

• Obesity or overweight
• Excessive alcohol consumption
• Diet rich in carbohydrate (more than 60% of calories)
• Physical inactivity
• Cigarette smoking, a major risk factor for heart disease

Medical Conditions

• Diabetes mellitus
• Pregnancy
• Hypothyroidism
• Nephrotic syndrome
• Chronic renal failure
• Pancreatitis
• Bulimia
• Cushing's syndrome
• Hypopituitarism
• Monoclonal gammopathy
• Glycogen storage disease
• Inherited blood lipid disorders, such as familial combined hyperlipidemia, familial hypertriglyceridemia, and familial dysbetalipoproteinemia
• Lipodystrophy
• Acute intermittent porphyria
• Systemic lupus erythematosus

Medications

• Beta-blocker, diuretic
• Estrogen (contraceptive or hormone replacement therapy)
• Glucocorticoid
• Isotretinoin
• Protease inhibitor
• Tamoxifen
  

This material focuses on lowering triglycerides with lifestyle changes. Your physician can advise you on managing underlying medical conditions.

Many people who have triglycerides above 150 mg/dL have the metabolic syndrome.

The Metabolic Syndrome: An Unsuspected Killer
The metabolic syndrome has become one of the most important causes of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (coronary heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease). The metabolic syndrome is a constellation, or cluster, of certain risk factors for heart disease. These risk factors are listed in the table below. About 60 to 75 million Americans have this syndrome and most do not know it. The metabolic syndrome  is the number 1 predictor of heart disease. That is why we call it an "unsuspected killer." Talk with your doctor today if you think you have the metabolic syndrome. View Checklist for the Metabolic Syndrome

The metabolic syndrome may be new to you. It is only in the past few years that scientists have recognized the syndrome and the risks it poses. Other names that have been used for the syndrome include "syndrome X" and "insulin resistance syndrome." Diagnosis and management of the syndrome were added to the U.S. National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines published in May 2001.

Goals for Lowering Triglycerides
The goal for fasting triglycerides in adults is less than 150 mg/dL. To help you accomplish this, Lowering Triglycerides with SLIM includes lifestyle changes to improve diet, lose weight, and increase physical activity.

When elevated triglycerides and elevated cholesterol occur together, the first goal is to lower LDL-cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol) to lower risk for coronary heart disease. LDL should be lowered to less than 100 mg/dL if you have coronary heart disease or are otherwise at high risk for heart disease, or to below 130 mg/dL if you have two or more risk factors besides elevated cholesterol. LDL should be lowered to less than 160 mg/dL if you have only one or no risk factors besides elevated LDL-cholesterol. Ideally, all adults should have LDL-cholesterol below 100 mg/dL. For information on Lowering Cholesterol click here.

If the initial level of fasting triglycerides is 500 mg/dL or higher, the initial focus is on triglyceride lowering to prevent pancreatitis because it can be a life-threatening condition.

Diet to Lower Triglycerides
The Diet to Lower Triglycerides emphasizes several dietary components.

• Decreasing calories to lose weight if your BMI is 25 or higher. Click to calculate your BMI
• Restricting alcohol
• Limiting fat to about 35% of calories
• Decreasing carbohydrate, particularly simple carbohydrate, to no more than about 50% of calories
• Decreasing saturated fat to less than 7% of calories and decreasing trans fat
• Limiting dietary cholesterol to less than 200 mg/day
• Using unsaturated fat-monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat-to replace saturated fat

This may sound like a lot of confusing information. It is a lot of information; however, SLIM (System for Lifestyle Internet Management) makes it easy to use. It is an interactive system and both provides information about the diet and shows you how to use it.

Your diet to lower triglycerides will be based on the calorie level you need to lose weight or to maintain your current weight. It is available to you as a Living Heart Member. Click to learn about Benefits of Membership, Membership Plans, and Steps for Enrollment.

In addition to a diet for lowering triglycerides, you may wish to contact a dietitian for Nutritional Counseling.

If you would like to have a diet to lower triglycerides, click here.