QuestionQUESTION: I am pre-diabetic. Over the last six months I have gone to a low fat, high fiber diet. My bad cholestorol has gone done. The doctor is pleased with my test results. But my triglycerides have increased. What do I need to do nutritionally to improve those as well.
ANSWER: Hi Michelle,
That's great to hear you were able to modify your diet and see good results!
Triglycerides are always high after eating (they are the fat circulating in the bloodstream after digesting a meal and before being transported to their final storage place). Is there a chance the lab test was performed when you were not fasting?
Triglycerides are reduced with weight loss. I imagine the diet you've been on for the past 6 months has helped you lose weight, so I would expect the levels to go down a bit.
What makes triglycerides higher is eating too many carbohydrates, especially sweets and alcoholic beverages. I imagine you weren't indulging in these if you were on a diet to help control your blood sugars!
If you've been following a diet low in concentrated sweets, losing weight, and the last triglyceride blood test was taken while you were fasting, I'd suggest speaking to your doctor about supplementing omega 3 fatty acids which can help reduce TG levels. Do speak with your physician before you begin supplementing on your own, as there are some potential risks with taking extra omega 3 in some people.
I'd love to hear how your next tests are, so keep in touch!
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Interesting. I was fasting, I am already on the Omega 3's, I
don't drink and have been really watching the sweets but the
triglycerides almost doubled from one lab test to the other.
I have increased my fiber, mainly thru wheat products which
are carbs, I guess my main concern is that I may have cut
something out of my diet that was helping the triglycerides.
AnswerDear Michelle,
I don't believe there are any dietary ingredients that help keep triglycerides lower, aside from the Omega 3 fatty acids.
Perhaps if you get another test you will find that one of the lab tests you had done resulted in an erroneous number...hopefully the second one!
You should definitely speak with your physician about your concern--everything you were doing should have lowered your triglyceride level, so does he have any ideas about what to do next.
Were you, by chance, on any medications for triglycerides or for your blood sugars at the time of the first test that were discontinued at the time of the second test?
Were your blood sugars better controlled more recently?
