Triglycerides are a common blood test and an important part of the Lipid (cholesterol) profile. Lipid profiles also measure Total, LDL and HDL Cholesterol. For today’s journey into common sense health and wellness, let’s stick mainly to discussing my favorite lipid measurement, Triglycerides. I know, I must be weird having a favorite lipid measurement. I am weird but probably not just due to that….
If you ask 100 docs what the most important part of the Lipid profile is, probably 99 would say the evil and sinister LDL.
If you ask me the same question …..
I’ll wait ……….
Still waiting ……………
“Hey Doc, what is the most important part of the Lipid profile?”
Thanks for asking!
The first thing I look at and find most important in the lipid profile is the Triglyceride level.
Why?
For one thing I do not agree that there is good and bad cholesterol. I do not believe that the human body throughout evolution would purposely produce LDL if it was really bad for us. I do believe that looking at the levels of LDL and HDL are helpful and getting them to a healthy balance is essential BUT……
Triglycerides are how we truly gauge vascular disease risk factors.
Triglycerides, while being fat that floats in your blood, much of it inside LDL particles, does not come from dietary fat intake. Probably most of you have been told it does and I’ll let you in on a little secret. Probably most healthcare professionals believe triglycerides come from dietary fat intake. But please take it from someone who has been evaluating Lipid profiles from varying dietary regimens for over 20 years, Triglycerides are not a result of dietary fat intake.
BTW- that someone is me if you did not get the hint. If you think I alone is not enough to convince you then how bout “me”, “myself” and “I”. That would be three of us. Maybe we are stronger and more convincing as a group.
The top causes of elevated Triglycerides in the blood that I see:
1- Non-fasting blood tests
2- Coffee use
3- Alcohol use
4- Untreated Hypothyroidism
5- Excess Dietary Carbohydrates
When triglycerides are elevated, that usually correlates with HDL being low. This combination leads to an elevated Triglyceride to HDL ratio above 1.5 which indicates Insulin Resistance and an increased risk for Overweight, Obesity, Hypertension, Heart Disease, Strokes, Cancer, Dementia, and other diseases of civilization.
So if you have elevated triglycerides what should you be asking?
1- Was my test fasting for 10-12 hours? The closer you are to eating/drinking calories the higher your triglycerides can measure. We like to always test after a 10-12 hour water only fast to reduce this variable.
2- Have I had coffee at any point in the past 3-7 days? I learned this a few years ago. There is something in coffee, and it is not the caffeine, that in some people can elevate their triglycerides. If your triglycerides are higher than expected consider removing all coffee for a week and then retest.
3- How much alcohol have I been drinking? Alcohol raises Triglycerides and HDL. In most people a small amount of alcohol can be beneficial. But the difference between small and no longer beneficial is like walking a tightrope. You need to be very careful.
4- Is my thyroid well balanced? An underactive thyroid alters the way your body handles food and energy storage. As triglycerides are a form of energy storage….
5- How many carbohydrates am I eating and do I need to lower them?
This is the biggest actionable factor. The more dietary carbohydrates you eat, the higher your triglycerides go, unless you run marathons on a daily basis.
Here is a pearl: You can’t out-exercise a poor diet
Reducing dietary carbohydrates reduce triglycerides better than any prescription medication or natural supplement, by far!
Low carbohydrate diets reduce triglycerides better than any other diet, period.
Was that emphatic enough? I used the phrase “by far” and the word “period” to provide extra emphatic emphasis. Hopefully you get the hint.
So before you get advised, coerced or scolded into taking a prescription medication to lower your LDL cholesterol, how about first doing what you need to do to lower your triglycerides.
REDUCE YOUR DIETARY CARBOHYDRATES
If you eat a lot of carbohydrates and have low triglycerides, consider yourselves blessed and continue on. But the super majority of adults are not that lucky.
If you need help with a lower carbohydrate diet, you hopefully know who to ask.
We are now into the beginning of Week 3 of the #IMWChallenge .
Can I get some feedback in the comments section please how everyone is doing.
Comments and questions are allowed.
I have thought about having a group Zoom meeting one night for anyone participating in the #IMWChallenge . Would this be something you are interested in?
I’ll end with a pic of my lunch today. As it is Wednesday and my day of working from home as well as catching up with my non-IMW chores and activities, I had time to cook something for lunch. My lunch was around 1PM, with last nights dinner ending by 7PM, so this was about an 18 hour fast. I have decided to add or shall I say, be more strict in Intermittent Fasting this week. It’s funny how when I fast I am actually less hungry and have even a clearer head. When I am low carb, keto or carnivore, if I eat 3 meals a day, I tend to hungrier and not feel as light or level. It’s tough to describe but it’s like when I fast, my body had had more than enough time to process all the food that I have eaten, clear the toxins as well, and then just work smoother and easier. I just feel better when I eat less. Problem is, probably just like most people, I enjoy eating. I also enjoy cooking, so when I fast I need to find other distractions to avoid eating out of boredom or habit. If you Intermittent Fast please leave a comment about how you do it, what works and what does not for you. Let’s help others to understand fasting as a healthy means to improved health.
Oops.
I forgot the pic of my lunch.
Homemade broccoli cheddar soup sprinkled with Carnivore Crisps Chicken crumbs.
I wanted something light so when looking thru my fridge I had an abundance of broccoli, a nice hunk of Irish cheddar cheese and some leftover heavy cream. So some butter, organic chicken bone broth, onions, celery, spices and my Instant Pot pressure cooker and voila.
#Delicious
Don’t forget to send pics of your #IMWChallenge meals and use the #IMWChallenge hashtag if on Twitter or Instagram. You can also send them to me directly by email or Spruce, but if you are bragging about your great meal, share it so everyone can see.
MEME of the day
Til next time.
To Good Health!