A Third Of Americans Have High Triglyceride Levels
What are triglycerides and does it matter if you have high triglyceride levels?
After keeping an eye on your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, there's another key number to you should also know about - triglycerides.
These fatty particles in your plasma are key to your heart health, but they don't get any were near the attention that cholesterol does.
Yet about one third of American adults have triglyceride levels that are considered either borderline or too high, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control that's just been published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
If you've had your cholesterol tested, you were probably told that triglycerides at levels of 150 to 199 milligrams per deciliter are borderline high; over 200 milligrams per deciliter are too high.
Note: Cholesterol levels are measured in milligrams (mg) of cholesterol per deciliter (dL) of blood in the U.S. and some other countries, while Canada and most of Europe measures cholesterol in millimoles per liter of blood.
It's been found that very high triglyceride levels can create inflammation of the pancreas.
Males are more likely than females, and Caucasians at higher potential risk than African Americans or Mexican Americans to have higher triglyceride levels.
If you have risk factors for heart disease you need to take this risk seriously and do something about it.
This is specifically a concern if your waist measurement is over 40 inches (101.6 centimeters) if you're a man, and more that than 35 inches (88.9 centimeters) if you're a woman - this body shape makes you more likely to develop heart disease problems.
If you're too heavy, too inactive, drink too much or eating lots of saturated fat you likely have higher triglyceride levels. It seems that the body stores extra calories as triglycerides and keeps them stored in your fat cells.
Hormones release the triglycerides to give you energy between meals, and if you're eating more calories than you burn you'll probably have high triglycerides.
Cholesterol testing involves a simple blood test, known as a lipid panel, or lipid profile to check your cholesterol levels - the total number, as well as LDL and HDL cholesterol and these often sadly overlooked triglyceride levels.
The best lower high triglyceride levels is to lose the extra weight - which can only happen if you eat right and are sufficiently active.
Swap healthy fats for unhealthy ones (like saturated or trans fats), especially if your triglycerides are between 155 and 500 milligrams per deciliter.
You'll also increase your intake of soluble fiber found in foods like oatmeal, beans, fruits and veggies.
If lifestyle changes do not have enough of an effect on the levels, prescription medications like statins, fibrates, niacin and fish oil that may also be a useful tool.
You should know that high cholesterol has no symptoms, but genetics (close family members with high cholesterol or heart disease) might make you more prone to having it, even if you do everything right when it comes to diet and exercise.
If this is you, you want to get a baseline cholesterol test by age 20 (or as early as you can), and follow-ups every five years afterward.
Catching the problem early gives you the best chance to treat conditions right off the bat and retain your health.
Other research linking high triglycerides to cardiovascular disease shows that high triglyceride levels are as dangerous as high cholesterol to your heart health.
If your triglyceride numbers are higher than they should be, now is the time to make the appropriate changes to bring high triglyceride levels down.
Next - just head on over to the Daily Health Bulletin for more information on the effects of high triglyceride levels, plus for a limited time get 5 free fantastic health reports. Click here for the video of the study into the causes of high triglycerides.