Are you clear about the normal triglyceride level? We are certainly have ever hear of cholesterol and how it is the crime culprit of heat disease, but few person know it clearly. Now people pay more attention to it because of the high morbidity of heart diseases. Many facts speak for its dangerous to human’s health, so all of us should have a good knowledge of it.
What are triglycerides?
Triglycerides are the scientific name for the main chemical formulation of animal and vegetable fats. It consists of three molecules of fatty acid together with a molecule of the alcohol glycerol. Triglycerides are the end product of digesting food we eat and the decompose of huge fats. And the extra food (carbohydrates, fat, protein) that’s not used right away will also converted into triglycerides. It is a normal component of the blood, which can be transported throughout the body and be used for energy or stored in form of fat.
Triglycerides are essential for our body. They are sometimes essential for providing eneregy, building cholesterol, and build fatty tissue. They can also carry vitamins like A, D and K. But when more triglycerides your body producing than your body needs, your triglyceride level may be high.
What are normal triglyceride level?
Abnormally high triglyceride level may lead to a risk of heart disease or the onset of diabetes. There may be other risks brought by high triglyceride such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure. So it is essential to measure our triglyceride level.
A normal triglyceride level is less than 150mg/dl.Borderline high triglycerides ranges from 150mg/dl to 199mg/dl. When it reaches more than 200mg/dl, attentions should be paid on it. A blood test can gauge your current triglyceride level.
Normal triglyceride level test
Before your normal triglyceride level test, your doctor may tell you some suggestions for a accuracy result. The most important is that you shouldn’t eat something for 8-12 hours before it. Also alcohol and certain drugs may affect the results. Let your doctor know what medicines you take.
The test are performed by several steps. Your doctor will wrap an elastic band around the upper arm to apply pressure to the area and make the vein swell with blood. Then, a needle will be inserted into the vein for collecting blood. After that, the elastic band is removed from your arm. Once the blood has been collected, the needle can be removed. A puncture site is covered to stop bleeding. If your initially test very high, once more test will be advised to take to exclude other reasons and confirm the result.
What causes high triglyceride level ?
Triglyceride may be caused by many kinds of reasons. Obesity, poorly controlled diabetes, eating too much calories, drinking alcohol, or some medicines, all of them can result in triglycerides raising. Some may also run in families.
Among them, obesity has a direct causal relate to high triglycerides. Eat a lot of carbohydrate or something contain too much sugar, drink too much alcohol and practice very little can be the main reason for your obesity.
What to do with high triglyceride level ?
Be diagnosed with very high triglyceride level? You need to pay attention to your fatty and take actions.
First of all, lowering your triglyceride levels through diet is the basic and the most important method. It focus on strict controlling on diet. Rejecting food that contains too much sugar or other glycemic carbohydrates, such as carbohydrates are foods like white flour, juice, sugar, cookies, candy, ice cream, white potatoes, ect. Beer, wine, hard liqueurs and others that contains alcohol should also be forbidden. Eat more fish with omega-3 fatty acids instead of red meat, which is high in saturated fat. In addition, fish is thought to protect us from heart disease. Walnuts and flax seeds are good sources of omega-e fatty acids. Keep on a low fat diet. Stay away from fast food and make meal at home yourself. You can have a healthy meal and exercises at the same time.
Losing weight is a must for lowering triglycerides. Except for a low fat diet, regular exercise is also very important. Try to get more aerobic exercise. Walk around wherever you can.
Third, for certain people with very high triglycerides, lifestyle changing plays little help on lowering triglycerides, medication may be suggested. The most common medicines names of statins are Lescol, Lipitor, Mevacor and Zocor. Some people will have side effects as skin rash, gastrointestinal upset, sleep disturbance and headaches. There is one point should be mentioned that grapefruit can’t be taken together with statins, which contains a chemical that can deactivates a liver enzyme which can breaking down statins. Alcohol should also be forbidden when taking a statin drug. Another kind of medicine is known as nicotinic acid derivatives, which derived from nicotinic acid, commonly called vitamin B3.
The best method is by natural remedies, which is performed by changing lifestyle and diet habits. But it requires long-term insistance. Don’t give up and you can achieve it. To have a normal triglyceride level, please maintain a good lifestyle.