Doctors Can Use Triglyceride Levels to Guide Treatment

For many people, an important blood test to undergo is one that measures their triglycerides. This is a type of fat that people find in their bloodstream. Essentially, these fats are created when the body has excess calories. They are converted into triglycerides, which are in turn stored in fat cells. Eventually the body has these released back for energy the body needs. 

Essentially, if a body isn’t using the calories it’s consuming, then it’s possible that triglyceride levels are too high. This can be very meaningful for people who have diabetes, high blood pressure and other conditions. Triglycerides are an important part of health that are often under-recognized and misunderstood. This article will attempt to provide some basic information about triglycerides and what getting a triglyceride test might entail. 

Triglyceride Test Results

Taking a triglyceride test isn’t particularly difficult. It’s a simple blood test that can be drawn from the arm quickly. The results can range from Normal to very high. A normal reading is considered to be 150mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter). High scores range from 200 to 499, with dangerously high levels above 500. 

There’s a lot of different things that a high triglyceride count can let people know about. People with high triglycerides can have prediabetes or Type 2 diabetes. High triglycerides may also often be a sign of hypothyroidism or metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome manages to combine high blood sugar, high blood pressure and obesity. It combines all of the dangers of heart disease into one inconvenient little package. 

High triglyceride levels can also play a part in hardening of the arteries and the artery walls. This can increase the chance of people getting strokes or heart attacks. In some cases, if levels are very high, it’s possible for the pancreas to become inflamed. 

It’s still important to recognize that it’s not always a person’s direct fault that their triglyceride levels have increased. There are many different medications that can be taken for a wide variety of conditions which may lead to high triglyceride levels. 

Lowering Triglycerides

The good news is that there are a lot of things that can be done in order to lower a person’s triglyceride levels in their blood. Typically, lifestyle choices will be the first option. A lot of this will focus on diet. Items high in sugars and refined carbs can easily increase triglyceride levels. The same can be true of foods that are very high in saturated fats. There are healthier fats which won’t increase triglyceride levels. This may mean giving up some of the fattier meats and moving to healthy fish like salmon when possible. It’s also important to watch out for alcohol. This is rather high in calories and can really boost triglycerides. 

In addition to diet, the other aspect for many people will be working on their body weight. Overall, getting to a healthy body weight will help cut the calories in the body and should ensure that people aren’t consuming too many over what they are expending. This means more exercise as well. Typically,. People should aim for 30 minutes per day as a good baseline, and simply be more physical in their lives. The stairs over the elevator may not be a huge gain, but every little bit helps to keep the triglyceride levels down. 

If things get out of control and can’t be handled through lifestyle, then there are medication options. In many cases, medication will need to be taken in tandem with lifestyle changes to work out properly.