Dr. Barry Sears, author of bestselling book The Zone, kindly sent me this quote about triglycerides:
“Elevated triglycerides are becoming recognized as an underlying factor of heart disease that may be just as important as elevated cholesterol. The best way to reduce triglycerides is an anti-inflammatory diet or high-dose fish oil. Both reduce cellular inflammation, which ultimately are the causes of heart attacks in the first place.”
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How do triglycerides end up in your blood?
Triglycerides end up in your bloodstream through different avenues — from the foods that you eat, through the conversion of excess energy in your body into triglycerides, or from the release of stored triglycerides for use as energy. Under normal conditions, all of these processes are kept in balance by your body and the amount of triglycerides in your blood is regulated.
However, certain factors make it difficult for your body to regulate the triglycerides in your blood, such as a diet full of processed carbohydrates, saturated fats, and hydrogenated fats. These poor dietary habits can raise the triglycerides in your blood and chronically elevated blood triglycerides increases your risk of heart disease, stroke and heart attack. Changes in your diet can help lower the triglycerides in your blood and reduce the process of cellular inflammation that Dr. Barry Sears mentions in his quote.
Effective ways to lower triglycerides in your blood include weight loss, a healthy (anti-inflammatory) diet, and keeping your body active. An anti-inflammatory diet includes a variety of nutrient-dense foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole-grains, nuts, seeds, beans, meats (grass-fed), fish, eggs, and unprocessed oils.
Since excess energy from carbohydrates can be converted into triglycerides in your body, people often think that “carbohydrates” are bad and they try to avoid them. This is further from the truth. Certain carbohydrate-containing foods are a necessary part of a healthy diet, such as fruits, vegetables, and whole-grains. It is the processed and refined carbohydrate-containing foods to limit or avoid. These are foods like soda, juice, sugary drinks, donuts, ice cream, cake, cookies, and other processed foods made with refined carbohydrates and sugar (certain cereals, chips, crackers, packaged snacks, etc). Sadly, these processed foods are often marketed to children, which offers an explanation for the rise in childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Where to start….
Adopt a nutrient-dense, fiber-rich, anti-inflammatory diet.
Make it a goal that all grains in your diet are whole-grains, such as brown rice, oatmeal, quinoa, whole-grain pasta, whole-grain bread, etc.
Stock up on whole fruits and vegetables. Eat a fruit or vegetable with each meal and snack. Fill half of your plate with vegetables at meals. Start eating vegetable-based meals, such as salads, roasted vegetables, vegetable soups, vegetable enchiladas, and vegetable sandwiches/burgers.
Reduce saturated fats in your diet (fatty meats/lard, butter, whole-fat dairy products, etc) and AVOID hydrogenated fats (fried foods, processed snack foods, stick/tub margarine, non-dairy creamers, vegetable shortening, etc).
Replace the saturated and hydrogenated fats in your diet with monounsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids. Monounsaturated fats are found in olive oil, nuts, seeds, and avocados. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in fatty fish, flax-seed, and certain nuts. Talk to your doctor about taking an omega-3 fatty acid supplement.
I hope you found this article helpful and it motivates you to take steps to lower your triglycerides. Don’t forget to talk with your physician first to get the right treatment plan for your situation.
Read these articles for more information about a healthy diet:
Nutrient-Dense Foods – Key To Weight Loss
Stay Healthy With A Fiber-Rich
Foods that battle inflammation
I look forward to your comments. If you received this article by email you must go to the blog to leave a comment:
http://www.healthfulsense.com/
Sincerely,
Lisa
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Tags: diabetes, fiber, health, healthy diet, heart disease, nutrient-dense, quote, triglycerides, weight loss
Great information. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you!
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