How To Lower Triglycerides After 50: These Tricks Slash Heart Disease Risk Fast
From baked beans to movie nights, simple daily habits can deliver big benefits
Blood fats called triglycerides are the body’s main form of stored energy. But when levels climb above 150 mg/dL, they become a major contributor to heart disease. Fortunately, research in the journal JAMA suggests that lowering high triglycerides can slash heart disease risk up to 62 percent. And a separate study in Frontiers in Endocrinology found this strategy can reduce the odds of developing type 2 diabetes by 34 percent. That’s why we’re revealing how to lower your triglycerides using the best science-backed strategies.
What are triglycerides?
Triglycerides are a type of fat found in your blood, and your doctor tracks them by looking at your lipid profile through a simple blood test. They come from the foods you eat, and they’re stored in cells as energy to be released between meals when you need it most. But if you’re taking in too many dietary fats without burning them off, high triglycerides levels can be a risk factor for health problems. (Discover what a healthy cholesterol level is for your age.)
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How to lower triglycerides: 10 easy tips
It goes without saying that eating a balanced diet and getting regular physical activity can help lower high levels of triglycerides, as can losing weight. But those aren’t the only ways to bring elevated numbers back down. These simple tips can also help lower your triglycerides.
Enjoy baked beans
Eating ¾ cup of the barbecue favorite daily lowers triglycerides within four weeks, according to an American Journal of Clinical Nutrition report. And in welcome news for time-pressed women, people in the study ate canned baked beans. The fiber in navy beans lowers the absorption of fat into the bloodstream while boosting gut levels of butyrate, a friendly fatty acid that helps the liver use triglycerides for fuel. Other fiber-packed beans: pinto, kidney, lima and black beans.
Count your blessing
Research out of the Netherlands shows that thinking of three things you’re thankful for each day helps make you more grateful within six weeks. That’s a boon for blood fats: A study in the journal Scientific Reports found that those who scored high on a gratitude questionnaire had lower triglyceride levels than their less-grateful counterparts. Gratitude lowers stress and inflammation, both of which can cause triglycerides to climb.
Sip a cranberry spritzer
Cranberry juice is a sweet-tart drink that’s refreshing on its own or mixed into a trendy mocktail. However you enjoy it, investigators at USDA’s Agricultural Research Service found that drinking a cup of cranberry juice twice daily significantly reduced triglycerides among study participants within eight weeks. Experts credit cranberry juice compounds such as quercetin and proanthocyanidins with blunting the formation of triglycerides in the liver.
Take a walk break
Simply heading out for a morning walk can lower your triglycerides within eight hours, according to researchers reporting in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. But their study found that working briefer bouts of walking throughout the day does the job, too. Indeed, women who walked for 90 seconds, 20 times daily lowered their triglycerides as effectively as those who walked for 30 minutes at a time. Try taking a quick walk to the mailbox and back, sprinting up and down the stairs or stepping lively around your living room during TV commercial breaks.
Consider krill oil
Scientists have long known that omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil can lower triglycerides by helping to break them down and clear them from the blood. But omega-3s derived from tiny sea crustaceans known as krill may do the job even better.
In a Canadian study, people who took 1 to 1.5 grams of krill oil daily for 12 weeks experienced more dramatic triglyceride reductions than those who took 3 grams of fish oil for the same timeframe. Study authors theorize that compounds called phospholipids in krill oil enhance its absorption and make its omega-3s more available to the body.
Binge blockbusters
A study published in Frontiers in Medicine found that women who enjoyed 30 minutes of downtime each day may trim 30 points off their triglyceride levels in six weeks. Turns out reducing stress hormone levels can have a healing effect on your liver, limiting its triglyceride production.
Enjoy an ancient grain
Cultivated in the Andes Mountains for thousands of years, quinoa’s more than just a side dish: Its fluffy, slightly-chewy texture makes it a great addition to soups, veggie dishes and even baked goods. And in an Australian study, people who ate 50 grams (about 1/3 cup) of quinoa daily lowered their triglycerides by 36 percent in 12 weeks. Credit goes to quinoa’s rich supply of protein and fiber, which slow absorption of fat in the intestines and tamp down production of triglycerides in the liver.
Spice things up
What do banana bread, iced coffee and oatmeal have in common? They’re all better with a dash of cinnamon. And as it turns out, your blood fat levels may be better with a dash of cinnamon too. Simply adding ½ tsp. of the spice to your daily diet lowers your triglycerides by up to 30 percent in 40 days, a study in Diabetes Care reveals.
Boost your B vitamins
Getting your daily dose of vitamins is not only a good habit, it’s also important for lowering your triglycerides. Brigham and Women’s Hospital researchers reporting in the journal JAMA found that taking 1,500 to 2,000 mg. of vitamin B-3, also known as niacin, daily lowers triglycerides by as much as 25 percent. It works by reining in the liver’s triglyceride output.
Try an ‘Earl Grey’ supplement
Derived from the citrus fruit that gives Earl Grey tea its unique taste, bergamot extract has an impressive ability to drive down high triglycerides. In fact, Italian investigators found that taking 500 mg of bergamot extract daily lowered study participants’ triglyceride levels by 23 percent in 30 days. Polyphenols in the extract combat inflammation and blunt activity of enzymes involved in triglyceride formation. One to try: Solaray Vital Extract Bergamot.
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