Lowering triglyceride levels is similar to that of lowering cholesterol; diet, exercise and medication are all key. Watch family medicine physician Jennifer Caudle, DO, discuss how avoiding cholesterol/fats and increasing fiber can make a big impact.
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Triglycerides are part of the lipid panel. The lipid panel is what consists of cholesterol, the bad cholesterol or LDL, the good cholesterol which is HDL, and then of course the triglycerides. So some of the ways you can help lower your triglycerides are very similar to some of the ways that you can also help lower your total cholesterol and your LDL or bad cholesterol.
And these include things like making sure you're getting proper exercise, and keeping your weight to a safe weight. Making sure that you're eating a healthy diet, that you're taking medications if need be, but the diet and the exercise are very very important, and again this is similar to things you would do to lower your cholesterol in general.
Some of the diets and lifestyle changes that you can make, include making sure that you read labels and lowering the amount of cholesterol you're taking in your diet. That's reducing trans fats reducing, saturated fats, and also reducing cholesterol in general. Also make sure that you're eating plenty of fiber. Bran, oatmeal those are great sources of fiber, also making sure that you're exercising that's very important and these are things in addition to medication that can also help you lower your triglycerides.
Jennifer Caudle, DO, is a board-certified family medicine physician and graduate of Princeton University. She is currently an assistant professor in the department of Family Medicine at Rowan University-School of Osteopathic Medicine.
