Triglycerides
Triglycerides are a type of fat found in your blood.
After you eat, your body converts the calories that you don’t need into triglycerides and stores them in your fat cells to be used for energy later.
While you do need triglycerides to supply your body with energy, having too many triglycerides in your blood can increase your risk of heart disease.
5 ways you can improve your Triglyceride level right NOW
1. Lose some weight
Always easier 'said' than done!
If your Fit3d Body Scan Results do not have you in a green zone for Body Fat %, Waist Circumference, and Body Shape Rating, weight loss and fat loss will likely help you lower your Triglyceride levels.
We have previously written articles to assist you in weight/body fat loss. These can be viewed here:
5 Ways to decrease your Body Fat %
2. Decrease your Food Portion Sizes
Whenever your body consumes more calories than it needs, it converts these additional calories into triglycerides and stores these as fat cells. Controlling portion sizes may be a good way to decrease the over consumption of calories.
Here are 7 tips to help you Decrease Portion Sizes
3. Decrease your sugar intake
Extra sugar in your diet is converted into Triglycerides.
In fact, 15-year long research study concluded that those who consumed at least 25% of their diet through sugar we twice as likely to die from heart disease than those who consumed less than 10% sugar.
There is a plethora of evidence that suggests too much sugar is bad for you. Sugar is a sneaky substance and food manufacturers are well aware of this. Manufacturers will often call sugar various things, making it difficult to determine exactly how much sugar you are consuming.
You can read more about sugar here
4. Minimise trans fats
Trans fats can increase triglyceride levels.
Trans fats can be found in most baked or fried foods. Decreasing the consumption of these foods or 'takeaways' will assist in minimising your trans fat and triglyceride levels.
5. Increase the amount of exercise you do
Exercise can increase the 'good' HDL cholesterol in your body. Having more HDL cholesterol will then indirectly lower triglyceride levels.
It is best to start slowly and build up the amount of exercise you perform each week. You can read more about exercise here:
NZ Ministry of Health Exercise Guidelines for Health
Additional Resources
If you have tried all the the tips above and your triglyceride levels are still high, you may benefit from seeking the opinion of your GP or a registered dietitian. There may be a genetic reason (or other reason) for your low levels of HDL cholesterol.
Check out our online Nutrition Packages here
Book a 1:1 Exercise Programming session with our Director
HDL: Here are 5 things you can do right now to improve your HDL Cholesterol
LDL: Here are 5 things you can do right now to improve your LDL Cholesterol