A bit about Triglycerides

Today’s post is about triglycerides.

The last post was about Cholesterol and the associated blood test.

As mentioned in that post, the measured total cholesterol level is made up of LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and 20% of triglycerides.

So today I thought that in this post I would explore that 20%, the triglycerides.

What are triglycerides?

Triglycerides are the most common type of fat that circulates in the blood and are a critical source of energy. The body gets triglycerides or makes them from the foods we eat. The body converts any calories it doesn’t need to use right away into triglycerides. As a normal component of the vascular system, triglycerides are continuously being circulated just in case they need to be converted to energy.

When there is an excess of triglycerides in the body, they can be stored in the liver or in fat cells to supply the body with energy when it is required. This is a natural process that provides a sustained source of energy for the body, particularly between meals, as triglycerides are a stored energy source.

When more calories are consumed than burned, particularly from high-carbohydrate foods, this can cause high triglycerides (hypertriglyceridemia).

If the level of triglycerides is high and this is combined with a high LDL level or a low HDL level, there is a higher risk of fat building up and blocking blood vessels. This increases the risk of heart attack or a stroke.

What is normal?

A doctor or health professional will usually check for high triglycerides as part of a cholesterol test, which is sometimes called a lipid panel or lipid profile. Fasting is required before any blood can be drawn for an accurate measurement.

Normal fasting blood triglyceride levels are:

*Lower than 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) for adults

*Lower than 90 mg/dL for children ages 10 to 19

The doctor may diagnose high blood triglycerides if the fasting blood triglyceride levels are consistently 150 mg/dL or higher.

*Borderline high — 150 to 199 mg/dL

*High — 200 to 499 mg/dL

*Very high — 500 mg/dL or above

A high triglyceride level is one of the signs of metabolic syndrome. This is a collection of health conditions that increase risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

An extremely high triglyceride level can cause inflammation of the pancreas, the organ in the abdomen that produces insulin.

Accordingly, people who have high levels of triglycerides should be advised to reconsider their diet and any habits of overeating in order to lower their triglyceride levels and reduce their risk of these conditions.

Some individuals may also have high triglyceride levels due to other circumstances. These could be excessive alcohol consumption, uncontrolled diabetes, hormonal abnormalities, kidney or liver disease, as a result of a genetic disorder or the use of certain medications. If this is the case, the primary cause should be managed appropriately in order to manage the triglyceride levels.

How can we lower our levels?

As with most health issues, small changes including diet can reduce triglyceride levels.

These can be simple changes such as;

*Eating a diet rich in fruit, vegetables, whole-grains and healthy proteins (especially fish) will help to lower levels.

*Including healthy fats in the diet and reducing the unhealthy fats.

*Cut back on drinks and foods made from sugar and white flour.

*Cut back on alcohol.

* Exercise regularly.

* And lose weight, if overweight.

If you have diabetes, make sure your blood sugar level is well controlled.

 

As always, seek help from your chosen health professional if you are concerned about your triglyceride or cholesterol levels.

We hope you have found this information interesting,

Till the next post,

Live clean n prosper

Sources – National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute – Mayo Clinic – Health Direct

Which diet is healthier?

Todays post is about which diet is healthier for us.

This weekend I read an article in the paper about the different diets that are getting press lately. This got me thinking. There are so many different opinions and studies regarding diet and health. Many conflict each other and it gets very confusing.

I have looked at few popular diets and found research both for and against.

The Paleo diet

Promoted by several nigh profile chefs and dieticians, this emulates the diet of our hunter-gatherer ancestors. It is based on the premise that they did not suffer from the same diseases as modern humans.

This diet advocates consumption of unprocessed animals and plants, including meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds.

It shuns processed foods, sugar, dairy and grains, although some of the more modern “versions” of paleo do allow foods like dairy and rice.

5 human studies have been done on the paleo diet so far. All of these studies are done with humans and are published in respected, peer-reviewed scientific journals.

The results of these studies were positive in regards to health improvements and weight loss.

The Vegan diet

The vegan diet is growing in popularity. Advocates claim that it offers various health benefits, ranging from weight loss and reduced blood sugar to prevention of heart disease, cancer and premature death.

Vegetarian and vegan diets can be healthy, but they can lack certain nutrients. You may have to use a little creativity to ensure you get enough protein, calcium, iron, and vitamin B12.

The problem, however, is that no studies exist of populations where omnivores share similar genetic profiles, similar lifestyle patterns, and similar social and environmental factors with a significant number of vegans.

Therefore, most studies on vegan diets are observational. This makes it difficult to know if the benefits observed are actually caused by the vegan diet itself. Of the 16 human based studies that have been conducted. The results of these were positive in regards to health and weigh loss.

Low carb and Low fat diets

Few things have been debated as much as “carbohydrates vs fat.”

Some believe that increased fat in the diet is a leading cause of all kinds of health problems, especially heart disease.

This is the position maintained by most mainstream health organisations. These organisations generally recommend that people restrict dietary fat to less than 30% of total calories (a low-fat diet).

However… in the past 11 years, an increasing number of studies have been challenging the low-fat dietary approach.

Many health professionals now believe that a low-carb diet (higher in fat and protein) is a much better option to treat obesity and other chronic, Western diseases.

The authority Nutrition site looks at 23 studies that compare the 2 diets.

The majority of studies achieved statistically significant differences in weight loss (always in favour of low-carb).

Keep in mind that all of these studies are randomised controlled trials, the gold standard of science. These studies are scientific evidence, as good as it gets, that low-carb is much more effective than the low-fat diet that is still being recommended all over the world.

The 5:2 diet

Then there is the 5:2 fasting diet, which is actually very simple to explain. For five days a week, you eat normally and don’t have to think about restricting calories.

Then, on the other two days, you reduce your calorie intake to a quarter of your daily needs. This is about 500 calories per day for women, and 600 for men.

There are very few studies that test the 5:2 diet specifically. However, there are plenty of studies on intermittent fasting as a whole, which show impressive health benefits.

I have just put together a small sample of the information found on 2 websites. These sites did not have any articles stating that any of these diets were ‘bad’. However, several of these diets are, at the very least, conflicting with each other, eg; Paleo & Vegan.

It is very easy to find ‘bad’ press regarding any diet. At the end of the day, each of us is different and has different constitutions. Maybe the best way to determine which diet is best for us is to listen to our bodies and take note of how we feel after eating different food groups and go from there.

We have decided some time ago, that the best basis for our diet was to restrict our intake of processed foods. We try to consume mostly whole foods and foods that have had very little processing.

We also choose to restrict our intake of wheat and sugar, as we both find we feel better without it.

Till the next post,

Live clean n Prosper

Source – HealthlineNational Library of Medicine