Posts
What are triglycerides and does it matter if you have high triglyceride levels?
On top of keeping track of your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, there's another important number you should keep an eye on - triglycerides.
These particles in your blood are important to your heart health, but they don't get the press time that cholesterol does.
Approximately one third of American adults have either borderline or high triglyceride levels, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control that's just been published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
If you've had an assessment you have probably been told that triglycerides at levels of 150 to 199 milligrams per deciliter are borderline high; over 200 milligrams per deciliter are considered as too high.
In the US cholesterol levels are measured in milligrams (mg) of cholesterol per deciliter (dL) of blood, while Canada and most of Europe measures cholesterol in millimoles per liter of plasma.
Very high triglyceride levels can cause inflammation of the pancreas.
Men are more likely than women, and Caucasians at greater risk than African Americans or Mexican Americans to have high triglycerides.
If you have other risk factors for heart disease you need to take your risks seriously and do something about them.
This is specifically a concern if your waist measurement is over 40 inches (101.6 centimeters) if you're a man, and more that than 35 inches (88.9 centimeters) if you're a woman - this body shape makes you more likely to develop heart disease problems.
The body stores extra calories as triglycerides and keeps them stored in your fat cells.If you're overweight, too inactive, drink too much or eating lots of saturated fat you likely have higher triglyceride levels.
Hormones then release the triglycerides to give you energy between meals. Of course if you're eating more calories than you burn, like so many of us do, you'll probably have high triglycerides (known technically as hypertriglyceridemia).
Cholesterol testing involves a simple blood test, known as a lipid panel, or lipid profile to check your cholesterol levels. This can check your LDL and HDL cholesterol levels, and these often sadly overlooked triglyceride levels.
The best lower high triglyceride levels is to lose the extra weight - which can only happen if you eat right and are sufficiently active.
Swapping to healthy fats and removinf unhealthy one is a good start as well, especially if your triglycerides are between 155 and 500 milligrams per deciliter.
You'll also want to eat more soluble fiber found in foods like oatmeal, beans, fruits and veggies.
If lifestyle changes do not have enough of an effect on the levels, prescription medications like statins, fibrates, niacin and fish oil that may also be a useful tool.
Even if you do everything right, including a good diet and sufficient exercise, it's possible that genetics (close family members with high cholesterol or heart disease) might make you more prone to having it.
If there is a family history of high cholesterol, you may want to get a baseline cholesterol test by age 20 (or as early as you can), and follow-ups every five years.
Catching this issue nice and early gives you the best chance to manage the conditions and retain your health.
Other research linking high triglycerides to cardiovascular disease shows that high triglyceride levels are as dangerous as high cholesterol to your heart health.
If your number is higher than it should be, now is the time to make the changes to bring high triglyceride levels down.
On top of keeping track of your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, there's another important number you should keep an eye on - triglycerides.
These particles in your blood are important to your heart health, but they don't get the press time that cholesterol does.
Approximately one third of American adults have either borderline or high triglyceride levels, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control that's just been published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
If you've had an assessment you have probably been told that triglycerides at levels of 150 to 199 milligrams per deciliter are borderline high; over 200 milligrams per deciliter are considered as too high.
In the US cholesterol levels are measured in milligrams (mg) of cholesterol per deciliter (dL) of blood, while Canada and most of Europe measures cholesterol in millimoles per liter of plasma.
Very high triglyceride levels can cause inflammation of the pancreas.
Men are more likely than women, and Caucasians at greater risk than African Americans or Mexican Americans to have high triglycerides.
If you have other risk factors for heart disease you need to take your risks seriously and do something about them.
This is specifically a concern if your waist measurement is over 40 inches (101.6 centimeters) if you're a man, and more that than 35 inches (88.9 centimeters) if you're a woman - this body shape makes you more likely to develop heart disease problems.
The body stores extra calories as triglycerides and keeps them stored in your fat cells.If you're overweight, too inactive, drink too much or eating lots of saturated fat you likely have higher triglyceride levels.
Hormones then release the triglycerides to give you energy between meals. Of course if you're eating more calories than you burn, like so many of us do, you'll probably have high triglycerides (known technically as hypertriglyceridemia).
Cholesterol testing involves a simple blood test, known as a lipid panel, or lipid profile to check your cholesterol levels. This can check your LDL and HDL cholesterol levels, and these often sadly overlooked triglyceride levels.
The best lower high triglyceride levels is to lose the extra weight - which can only happen if you eat right and are sufficiently active.
Swapping to healthy fats and removinf unhealthy one is a good start as well, especially if your triglycerides are between 155 and 500 milligrams per deciliter.
You'll also want to eat more soluble fiber found in foods like oatmeal, beans, fruits and veggies.
If lifestyle changes do not have enough of an effect on the levels, prescription medications like statins, fibrates, niacin and fish oil that may also be a useful tool.
Even if you do everything right, including a good diet and sufficient exercise, it's possible that genetics (close family members with high cholesterol or heart disease) might make you more prone to having it.
If there is a family history of high cholesterol, you may want to get a baseline cholesterol test by age 20 (or as early as you can), and follow-ups every five years.
Catching this issue nice and early gives you the best chance to manage the conditions and retain your health.
Other research linking high triglycerides to cardiovascular disease shows that high triglyceride levels are as dangerous as high cholesterol to your heart health.
If your number is higher than it should be, now is the time to make the changes to bring high triglyceride levels down.
About the Author:
Next - just head on over to the Daily Health Bulletin for more information on the effects of high triglyceride levels, plus for a limited time get 5 free fantastic health reports. Click here for the video of the study into the causes of high triglycerides.
No comments:
Post a Comment