High triglycerides: causes and how to lower them

High triglycerides means there is relatively much of this blood fat in your blood. Sugar, alcohol, excess weight and little movement often play a role. The good news: precisely because triglycerides react strongly to lifestyle, they often drop again quickly when you change something.

That is my main point straight away. Of all the fat values in your blood, this is the most movable. A week with lots of soft drinks and wine can push your triglycerides up, and a few calm weeks can bring them down again. Below you read the causes, what the value means and what helps. For the whole picture, read our overview on lowering cholesterol for women.

What do high triglycerides mean?

Triglycerides are the fats your body uses and stores as energy. A raised value is linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, especially combined with other factors. The table below gives a rough classification for fasting values in mmol/l.

These limits are a guide, not a verdict about you. Your GP weighs them against your whole profile. How to read the other values is in our cholesterol values table.

Why does fasting matter for testing?

Triglycerides rise sharply after a meal, more than LDL or HDL. That is why they are often measured fasting, usually after eight to twelve hours without eating. A non-fasting measurement can make your triglycerides look higher than they really are.

This is exactly why a single high result need not mean panic. Did you eat shortly before the test? Then the value is hard to judge. If in doubt, ask whether a fasting repeat is sensible. At Lunara you can take a lipid profile blood test that includes triglycerides.

What are the symptoms of high triglycerides?

Usually high triglycerides give no clear symptoms. You often notice nothing, and precisely for that reason a rise often only shows up in a blood test. Only with very strongly raised values can symptoms appear, but that is rare.

Because symptoms are absent, a measurement is the only way to know. Want to look at this value only, you can check individual triglycerides. See it as a snapshot and discuss a rise with your GP.

What is the difference between triglycerides and cholesterol?

They are both fats in your blood, but with a different role. Triglycerides are mainly an energy store: what you eat too much of, your body stores as triglycerides. Cholesterol is a building block for cells and hormones. They are measured together, but react differently.

The practical difference is in the pace. Triglycerides shoot up after a meal with lots of sugar or alcohol and also drop again fast. Your LDL and HDL move more slowly and respond more to your fat choice over the longer term.

So in the same week you can get two very different signals: high triglycerides after a few festive days, while your LDL still shows the picture of months before. So look at both, and read how to interpret the rest of your profile in our cholesterol values table.

How do you lower your triglycerides?

Triglycerides react strongly to a few lifestyle dials: less added sugar, less alcohol, losing excess weight and more movement. The Voedingscentrum also points out that fast carbohydrates and alcohol drive triglycerides up, so there is often quick gain to be had there.

Omega-3 from oily fish can be favourable for the triglyceride level. In high, prescribed doses, omega-3 is even a recognised way to lower strongly raised triglycerides (Skulas-Ray et al., 2019). That is different from an ordinary fish-oil supplement; high doses belong with a doctor. Which foods help your whole profile is in lowering cholesterol with food.

Pick one dial this week that you will genuinely sustain, for example swapping soft drinks for water, and test again fasting in a few months. Then discuss any rise with your GP.

Sources

1. Skulas-Ray AC, Wilson PWF, Harris WS, et al. Omega-3 fatty acids for the management of hypertriglyceridemia: a science advisory from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2019;140(12):e673-e691. PMID 31422671.
2. Hartstichting. Triglycerides and cholesterol. Available via hartstichting.nl.
3. Voedingscentrum. Sugar, alcohol and your blood fats. Available via voedingscentrum.nl.

Every blood test result at Lunara includes a professional assessment by a BIG-registered doctor. For treatment decisions, discuss your results with your GP.