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Triglycerides and low carb?

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Kkayy

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Type 2
Hi, it's my first post🙂
I have very high triglycerides which are partly caused by my T2 not being well controlled. If I follow a low carb diet is this likely to make it worse?
TIA x
 
Kkayy said:
Hi, it's my first post🙂
I have very high triglycerides which are partly caused by my T2 not being well controlled. If I follow a low carb diet is this likely to make it worse?
TIA x
Click to expand...
Hi Kkayy, and welcome to the forum. I can’t provide you with anything definite, or point you to any research, but I can say that when I was first diagnosed (or misdiagnosed) as Type 2, and went on a low carb diet to try and keep my Blood Glucose under control, my Trigycerides were the lowest they’ve ever been. (I have to add the proviso that they’re not high now, and I was rediagnosed as Type 1 fairly shortly).
Hopefully someone will be along shortly who knows more about the science behind it.
 
Like @Robin my triglycerides and cholesterol in general are reducing with a low carb diet, even though I eat significant amounts of cheese and cream and fatty meat etc. (ie saturated fats) I can't speak for the science of it and it is contrary to what I would have expected from all the advice we have been given over the years about eating fat and cholesterol, but eating low carb, higher fat has reduced my levels consistently over a 2.5 year period so far.
 
There was also strong 'forum evidence' of this welcome side effect of lowering carb consumption, over many years on DSF. There is also a germ in the back of my brain telling me that there was some medical evidence but can't recall now who/what that was. Calling @Pattidevans - ? eg Malcolm K was it?
 
Since I started Low Carb, my HDL has almost doubled and m6y Triglycerides have almost halved. That is what almost everybody who tries Low Carb finds.
 
Me too - my cholesterol went down to just below average in a few weeks of low carbing - the nurse said it was a delayed effect of the high carb diet I'd been on before diagnosis. I smiled.
 
Kkayy said:
Hi, it's my first post🙂
I have very high triglycerides which are partly caused by my T2 not being well controlled. If I follow a low carb diet is this likely to make it worse?
TIA x
Click to expand...
How are are your triglycerides ? Mine were 8.74 when I was diagnosed with T2 3 months ago.
In the blood tests I just had they've come down to 0.94 (normal range).
I'm not sure how much the statin's I was prescribed helped with that but I aimed for less than 1500 calories and 150g of carbs a day along with reducing saturated fat intake. I also upped my exercise levels which is supposed to significantly help reduce them.
 
Moortt said:
How are are your triglycerides ? Mine were 8.74 when I was diagnosed with T2 3 months ago.
In the blood tests I just had they've come down to 0.94 (normal range).
I'm not sure how much the statin's I was prescribed helped with that but I aimed for less than 1500 calories and 150g of carbs a day along with reducing saturated fat intake. I also upped my exercise levels which is supposed to significantly help reduce them.
Click to expand...
They were 14.something originally. I was referred to Barts Hospital as they think there's a familial link too. They started me on Liraglutide which helped a bit.
It would appear that triglycerides have improved for people on a low carb diet so I will definitely give it a go! I will try some exercise when the lack of carbs stops making me feel rough 🙂)
Well done on reducing yours!
 
Kkayy said:
They were 14.something originally. I was referred to Barts Hospital as they think there's a familial link too. They started me on Liraglutide which helped a bit.
It would appear that triglycerides have improved for people on a low carb diet so I will definitely give it a go! I will try some exercise when the lack of carbs stops making me feel rough 🙂)
Well done on reducing yours!
Click to expand...
Good luck with things, i hope you see some improvements 🙂 - Out of interest how low carb are you planning on going, what will your targets be?
 
I am planning to go low enough to keep my blood glucose in target and don't know how much that will be until I manage it. I grazed on some biscuits with the grandchildren about a week ago and my BG was 19.1, I am using a libre sensor to help see what spikes my BG and how quickly it returns to normal. I've learnt so much already. Its only just hit me how serious the complications can be from T2.
Today my BG has been great all day with no spikes at all and I have eaten well. I have my fingers crossed it doesn't rise through the night when my liver dumps it!
 
trophywench said:
There was also strong 'forum evidence' of this welcome side effect of lowering carb consumption, over many years on DSF. There is also a germ in the back of my brain telling me that there was some medical evidence but can't recall now who/what that was. Calling @Pattidevans - ? eg Malcolm K was it?
Click to expand...
Yes, Malcolm Kendrick and Zoe Harcombe in particular, though there is an awful lot of verbiage from them both to trawl through to pin down the "carbohydrate raises cholesterol more than fat" information. Nonetheless there was certainly a lot of anecdotal evidence that pointed that way over the years when DSF forum was thriving.
 
Moortt said:
How are are your triglycerides ? Mine were 8.74 when I was diagnosed with T2 3 months ago.
In the blood tests I just had they've come down to 0.94 (normal range).
I'm not sure how much the statin's I was prescribed helped with that but I aimed for less than 1500 calories and 150g of carbs a day along with reducing saturated fat intake. I also upped my exercise levels which is supposed to significantly help reduce them.
Click to expand...
While statins do lower LDL (and either may or may not reduce all cause mortality) they also tend to lower HDL and raise triglycerides (which is the opposite to what you want).
So I expect that Low Carb caused your improved triglycerides in spite of your statins working against it.
 
ianf0ster said:
While statins do lower LDL (and either may or may not reduce all cause mortality) they also tend to lower HDL and raise triglycerides (which is the opposite to what you want).
So I expect that Low Carb caused your improved triglycerides in spite of your statins working against it.
Click to expand...
Interesting, I was prescribed Atorvastatin specifically to lower the tri's, my overall cholesterol was in normal ranges.

I've been off them for a few days now which I'm happy about.
 
The main thing that affects mine is whether I have a fasting test or not.
Triglycerides aren't the same as cholesterol, they are more a short term energy storage, too many and they form body fat, which converts back to energy if you are calorie deficient, and want to lose fat.
Statins are a red herring, they raise HDL and lower LDL, and lower high trig's, and LDL is certainly a specific cause of mortality, the "all cause" means nothing here.
I find saturated fats raise my bad cholesterol, good fats don't, any fasting/low calorie lowers my trigs.
 
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