How can nutrition and lifestyle help?

Often, changes to how you live and what you eat can reduce triglyceride levels.

Explore with your healthcare team if the following adjustments can help with your severe hypertriglyceridemia (sHTG).^1,9,11,23

Reducing alcohol. Drinking alcohol may cause large increases in triglyceride levels. For some people who drink a lot of alcohol, triglyceride levels drop by as much as 80% (for example, from 500 mg/dL to 100 mg/dL) when they stop drinking alcohol.
Losing weight. Losing 10 pounds (~4.5 kg) of body weight reduces triglyceride levels by about 36 mg/dL, on average.
Changing the foods you eat. Reducing saturated fats, sugars, and excess calories from your diet may lead to reductions in triglyceride levels. Stricter limitations on fat consumption are needed if:
- Your triglyceride levels are above about 500 mg/dL.
- You have FCS.
Physical activity. Getting enough physical exercise may reduce triglyceride levels by 10 to 20%.
- Exercise provides numerous other health benefits including improved control of diabetes, weight loss, lower risk of cardiovascular disease, and possibly lower risk of dementia as you get older.

You may improve your chances of making lifestyle changes if you have the support of a registered dietitian, exercise specialist, or counselor.³⁰ Talk to your doctor about adding some of these specialists to your healthcare team. For more information, see Working with your healthcare team.

If you have triglyceride levels in the blood above 880 mg/dL or if none of the treatments above seem to help, you may have a genetic condition known as familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) that will require a different approach to management.^1,8

Learn about FCS >

Show References

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