Triglycerides: Why They Matter and How to Lower Them

Lisa Nelson, RD, LN is answering your questions! Health Professional Dietician I am a dietitian with a genetic predisposition for high... Send Message Subscribe: Lisa Nelson, RD, LN

Wednesday, July 09, 2008
View All of Lisa Nelson, RD, LN's Posts

I've recently answered several questions related to triglycerides. These questions range from "What are triglycerides?" to "My triglycerides are 400, do I need to worry?" on to "Help, my triglycerides are 1200, how do I fix this?" So, I'm going to answer all these questions here ...

Hide Comments | Add comment

Can your triglycerides be too low?
Maryu
Sunday, July 13, 2008 at 09:46 PM

My triglycerides have always been low- 45 or so, now they have been running 32-35. Is that good? My doctor says he doesn't know - it may be unusual but they usually just worry about high. My cholesterol is also low, hdl 40+ and LDL 80

re: Can your triglycerides be too low?
Lisa Nelson, RD, LN
Sunday, July 13, 2008 at 11:15 PM

Hi Mary,

You must have great genetics and take care of yourself, because your numbers are great. The desirable triglyceride range is 10-190 mg/dL, so to answer your question - no, your triglycerides are not too low. Had to pull out my handy dandy lab guide for that one. Low triglycerides are definitely not a common worry! The ideal HDL is 60 or greater, so if yours runs in the 40's you could always work on boosting it through more physical activity, but your triglycerides and LDL are great. Good job!

All the best,

Lisa Nelson, RD, LN

Heart Health and Weight Loss Tips

Triglicerides
Ray
Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 05:01 PM

Good Article...but I lowered my triglicerides from 610 to 189 by reducing sugar and carb but increasing fats. More butter and eggs etc natural pasture fed. HDL went up and LDL went down. I am starting to think that fat is always included as bad but it is more specifically the hydrogenated vegatable fats that are the culprit.

I would be interested in your comments...thx Ray

re: Triglicerides
Lisa Nelson, RD, LN
Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 07:37 PM

Hi Ray,

Great job lowering your triglycerides! That's a significant improvement.

For the most part I agree with you, it's the type of fat that makes a difference. Trans fats (found in hydrogenated products) have a major impact on cholesterol levels. Sugar (and alcohol) have the most impact on triglycerides. As far as fat always been thrown in versus just focusing on the trans fats. . . well, limiting fat to 30% of your daily calories isn't a reduced fat diet. It's the standard recommendation for a well-balanced diet plan, not just for lowering cholesterol. So, it's more included for individuals that are eating more total fat than is healthy to start with and a recommendation to bring that fat intake back down. Then, you move into replacing the unhealthy with the healthier fats, which it sounds like you did along with sugar and carb changes.

I hope this makes sense.

All the best,

Lisa Nelson, RD, LN

Heart Health and Weight Loss Tips

omega 3 pills
LN
Monday, June 15, 2009 at 10:42 PM

My husband has high triglycerides (323). He has been taking omega 3 fish oil pills for 2 years now and nothing has changed. He won't eat fish. Should we up the dosage? Maybe he isn't taking enough? He weighs around 350lbs.

Thanks for the help.

LN

re: omega 3 pills
Lisa Nelson, RD, LN
Tuesday, June 16, 2009 at 11:35 AM

Hi LN,

The American Heart Association recommends 2 to 4 g of EPA + DHA daily (read the label of your fish oil supplement to see how much EPA and DHA it contains), under physician's care only, for individuals that need to lower triglycerides. High doses, > 3 grams/day, can result in excessive bleeding. Any time you supplement greater than 2 grams you want to consult with your physician.

So, if your husband has been supplementing 1-2 grams of DHA and EPA daily and not seeing results, than it may be beneficial to consult his physician and up the dose to 3-4 grams/day.

Also, go through the other steps and make sure he's on track with low simple sugar/alcohol intake and adding physical activity. Simply increasing omega 3's will not be as effective if he's not taking the other steps as well.

All the best,

Lisa Nelson RD

How to Lower Cholesterol in 8 Simple Steps

Thanks
Wolf
Wednesday, July 08, 2009 at 04:13 PM

You answered all of my questions in a brief, clear manner. Thank you so much for covering all the bases! Simply put... I need to get a bit more healthy by becoming more active and changing my diet. O.K.

Peace