Are Triglycerides As Dangerous As Cholesterol? Part 3 – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 402
High levels of triglycerides can be extremely detrimental to your well-being, but the good news is that there are nutrients that can help.
Tag: nutrition
Are Triglycerides As Dangerous As Cholesterol? Part 2 – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 401
Your lifestyle choices can impact your triglyceride levels. This includes the foods you eat, your exercise habits and the medications you take. Tune into this podcast episode for more information on how to support healthy triglycerides.
Are Triglycerides As Dangerous As Cholesterol? Part 1 – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 400
triglycerides
InViteⓇ Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Jerry Hickey, Ph.
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Triglycerides are a type of fat in your blood that you use for energy, but when they’re too high, they’re extremely dangerous. Testing your blood for triglycerides has turned out to be an important measure of your future heart health and future heart risk.†
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What are triglycerides?
We call triglycerides lipids because they’re not totally fat. There’s some protein in there, as well as some other components. When you overeat, your body converts any calories that you’re not using right away for energy into triglycerides. These triglycerides are stored as fat and they are released by hormones in between meals so you have a constant source of energy.†
If you regularly eat more calories than you need to burn for energy, especially from high carbohydrate sugary foods, you likely have high triglycerides. This is called hypertriglyceridemia. This can be destructive to your heart, brain, pancreas and liver.†
How this relates to chronic disease states
Triglycerides are also closely linked to sugar levels in the body. When you eat an excessive amount of sugary foods like pasta, white bread and potatoes, you can only store so much of it as glycogen, which is the storage form of sugar. When the glycogen storage sites get full, then you start to convert the excess sugar into triglycerides. This is then stored as fat on the belly. This is how triglycerides are related to both sugar and diabetes.†
Triglycerides are a greasy fat, but not all will be stored as fat. If the triglyceride level in your blood goes high, this can lead to heart disease and it’s strongly connected with cardiovascular events such as strokes and heart attacks.†
A study in the journal Scientific Reports looked at almost 3000 patients over a period of many years. Over those years, the researchers recorded 114 heart attacks and 185 strokes. The factors that they found were connected to a first heart attack included being 75 years old or older, elevated blood sugar, low good cholesterol and elevated diastolic blood pressure. The risk factors for a first stroke included being 75 years of age or older, atrial fibrillation, a poor kidney filtration rate, elevated bad cholesterol and high triglycerides. Triglycerides were strongly connected with an increased risk of having your first stroke.†
When triglycerides are present in excess, they can be stored as fat, which may lead to obesity and all the health conditions that accompany it, such as your blood sugar, blood pressure and inflammation going up. Over time, high triglycerides can contribute to hardening of the arteries, which is the biggest killer on the planet.†
In this episode, Jerry Hickey, Ph. explains what triglycerides are and why they are both helpful and harmful to the body. He details studies on how they contribute to obesity, heart disease and other chronic disease states. Stay tuned for Part 2 of this episode, coming soon!†
Key Topics:
- What fats to get checked in your blood tests
- What is atrial fibrillation?
- Studies on cholesterol and heart health
Thank you for tuning in to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast. You can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting www.invitehealth.com/podcast. Make sure you subscribe and leave us a review! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at InViteⓇ Health today. We’ll see you next time on another episode of the InViteⓇ Health Podcast.
Green Tea and Diabetes – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 399
Green tea is one of the most popular beverages worldwide, but did you know that it contains powerful nutrients that can help support people with diabetes? Learn more about the powerful benefits of this drink from Amanda Williams, MPH.
The Many Health Benefits of Chromium – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 398
The micromineral chromium is needed for healthy blood sugar, energy production and more, but this nutrient is frequently overlooked. Learn why it’s important to ensure you have enough of this mineral within your body.
Active Folate for Brain and Heart Health – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 397
folate
InViteⓇ Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Jerry Hickey, Ph.
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Folate is a B-vitamin. It’s a water-soluble vitamin. It’s sometimes referred to as Vitamin B9. It’s really important to have sufficient folate, but not everybody does, sometimes because of eating habits, genetic issues or age.†
How folate functions in the body
The active form of folate is called methyltetrahydrofolate. It’s needed to make normal, healthy cells. Folate is ubiquitous in vegetables and green leafy things, so it’s named after foliage.†
Without folate, you could develop very large red blood cells, also known as megaloblastic anemia. This can prevent the red blood cells from getting into the blood vessels, which also means oxygen is not flowing through your body as well. That leads to shortness of breath, fatigue and weakness.†
Your folate status is really influenced by genetic variations in the metabolism of the nutrient. There’s an enzyme called MTHFR and about 50% of people have a problem with it. This makes it harder for them to take synthetic folate often found in low quality supplements or the folate in vegetables and convert it into the active form. You can make up for that, to a degree, by taking a powerful folate or folic acid supplement or by eating more vegetables.†
HOW SPECIFIC GENES IMPACT YOUR MOOD & HEALTH – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 202. Listen Now>>
The role this plays in the brain and heart
If you lack folate, you get an elevated level of homocysteine. Homocysteine is a byproduct of protein metabolism and the body can handle homocysteine when it’s at a level of 12 or less. Once it gets over 12, it becomes toxic. Methyltetrahydrofolate is the vitamin that lowers homocysteine. If your homocysteine is elevated, you have a higher risk of developing heart disease or suffering from a stroke. You also have a higher risk of developing cancer, Alzheimer’s disease or a hip fracture.†
If you’re low in folate long term, you can develop heart disease. A review of 80 human clinical trials showed that even moderately elevated levels of homocysteine in your blood increases your risk of developing cardiovascular disease. This can also lead to clogged blood vessels and coronary heart disease. It makes it hard for blood to flow because the blood vessels are squeezing, so your blood pressure can also go up. Having a little bit of methyltetrahydrofolate can help support normal homocysteine levels in the body.†
This nutrient also plays a role in brain health. Your risk of Alzheimer’s disease may increase if you lack folate. We know that folate is important for brain development in babies, but studies are now showing that it is important for the brain throughout your entire lifespan, especially when you’re elderly.†
In this episode, Jerry Hickey, Ph. discusses the important role the active form of folate plays within the body. He explains the relationship between this nutrient and homocysteine and discusses how these substances both impact the health of your body.†
Key Topics:
- Studies on genetics and Vitamin B9
- Factors that can block the absorption of folate
- What is homocysteine?
Thank you for tuning in to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast. You can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting www.invitehealth.com/podcast. Make sure you subscribe and leave us a review! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at InViteⓇ Health today. We’ll see you next time on another episode of the InViteⓇ Health Podcast.