High triglycerides are an increasingly common lab test abnormality, similar to high cholesterol. You can think of triglycerides as fat in the blood. Some cases are genetic, but there are a number of other conditions and lifestyle factors that can cause it. My husband, who loves his junk food and fast food, came home from the doctor’s office with a lab report saying that his triglycerides were dangerously high and that he’d need to be on medication. A few months later, he got laid off and we couldn’t really afford his medication once our health insurance ran out. In any case, it made sense to try to change his diet. The medication was not without potential side effects, and since there was no family history of high triglycerides, we knew that diet change would probably have at least some effect. Here are some things we learned.
1) Weight loss works. My husband did it the hard way. He counted calories instead of exercising. Counting calories did help him to realize that he was eating a lot of high fat, high calorie things that he really didn’t love, and that he could live without. I have to say that the research shows that exercise really works, it just required more of a lifestyle change for us than we were able to handle at the time.
2) Too much sugar is just as big a problem as too much fat. Everyone always talks about fat when it comes to lowering high cholesterol. It is true that you can’t lower triglycerides with a diet that consists of mostly fried foods, red meat, and butter. You can eat past any medication. However, you also won’t have a lot of success if you eat too much sugar or white flour. Like most Americans, my husband loves everything super sweet. I did succeed in getting him to try no added sugar, lower fat ice cream, and to use a sugar substitute for his beverages. However, weaning from chocolate has been a bigger issue entirely! Thankfully, cocoa powder is fine, just not cocoa butter. We also have had success in switching to whole grains. Anything made with white flour can be made with whole wheat flour. I routinely substitute half of the white flour in any recipe for whole wheat flour.
3) Fish is not as difficult or expensive as it sounds. Fish contains omega 3 fatty acids and these can help lower triglycerides. However, buying good fish can be expensive. We found though, that tuna and canned salmon were not terribly expensive. Canned salmon has the added benefit over fresh salmon of being almost completely produced in the United States, which means a lower mercury and environmental toxin level. We personally feel that eating fish is a lot easier than taking fish oil capsules.
4) You will get used to the changes over time. Sometimes even though you can tell the difference between less fat and less sugar, it doesn’t really matter so much to you after a while. I usually try to ease the family into less sugar or less fat but cutting back the amount in a recipe gradually.
5) Its hard to change your diet without changing your heart. My husband has good days and bad days, just like anyone else. If you really love your food, its hard to give it up. No one is saying it isn’t. Some days, you have to ask yourself why you want this. Is it so you can see your grandkids grow up? Is it so you can enjoy that retirement you’ve worked so hard for? Is it because you know its the responsible thing to do? Are you just sick of feeling tired and below par all the time? Whatever it is that you love more than food, hang on to it when you feel temptation’s pull. Hang in there!
Reference:
National Cholesterol Education Panel. Third Report of the Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (ATP III Final Report). N.p.: National Cholesterol Education Panel, 2002. Print.
