An easy swap to help reduce your triglyceride levels

Published on December 3, 2021 | in Cholesterol, Foods, Lifestyle, Nutrition, Physical Health By safcol |

by Ashleigh Feltham
Accredited Practising Dietitian and Accredited Nutritionist

Heart disease is still the number one killer in Australians. Eliminating all fat in your diet is not the answer to preventing heart disease. In fact, you need fat to support the health of your body and your heart. One great way to promote healthy cholesterol levels and heart health is not simply including healthy fats in your diet but swapping them for the less healthy fats like saturated fats and trans fats as well as foods with high amounts of added sugars.

Including healthy fats like omega-3 fat in your diet promotes a healthy heart in many ways. One way is by lowering the triglyceride levels in your blood. Triglycerides are a type of fat and when the level of triglycerides become above 150mg it can reduce the effectiveness of your ‘good’ HDL cholesterol. This cholesterol helps to remove the ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol from your arteries and back into the liver where the LDL cholesterol is broken down and excreted from your body.

A study found that for 1 gram of marine-derived omega-3 polyunsaturated fat there was a 5 to 10% decrease in triglyceride levels. The benefit on your triglyceride levels was not seen in this study from plant-based omega-3 fat. Fatty fish have the most benefit in reducing your triglycerides such as salmon, sardines, trout, mackerel, and herring.

Many varieties of quality and ethically sourced salmon, trout and sardines are available from seafood. For example, the Safcol Salmon Meals offer not only salmon but other ingredients which support the health of your heart with whole grains, legumes, vegetables, and herbs within the meals themselves. Research has shown that by making simple swaps and healthy additions to your diet you can decrease your triglyceride levels by 50% or more! Remember, it’s really important for your health to reduce your triglyceride levels.

Take home message

Marine omega-3 fat is the superior source of this essential fat to help promote healthy triglyceride levels. Why not try adding in a seafood meal this week instead of a sausage roll from the bakery? It’s an easy swap to help reduce your triglyceride levels that can lead to big changes over time.

Not only is Safcol the Seafood Experts tuna lunchbox friendly, but it also tastes delicious, and boasts some amazing health benefits! Tuna contains Omega-3 fats that are an unsaturated form of fat called polyunsaturated. These types of fats cannot be made by the body, so we need to include them as part of our diet to stay healthy. For good health, you need omega-3 fats in our diet, particularly the type which comes from fish and seafood because it contains two acids known as docosahexaenoic acid or DHA and eicosapentaenoic acid or EPA. These two acids are linked to better health for your body particularly for your brain and heart.

Reference:

Miller M, Stone NJ, Ballantyne C, Bittner V, Criqui MH, Ginsberg HN, Goldberg AC, Howard WJ, Jacobson MS, Kris-Etherton PM, Lennie TA, Levi M, Mazzone T, Pennathur S; American Heart Association Clinical Lipidology, Thrombosis, and Prevention Committee of the Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Metabolism; Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology; Council on Cardiovascular Nursing; Council on the Kidney in Cardiovascular Disease. Triglycerides and cardiovascular disease: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2011 May 24;123(20):2292-333. doi: 10.1161/CIR.0b013e3182160726. Epub 2011 Apr 18. PMID: 21502576.

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healthy eating, Nutrition, Omega 3, Physical Health, protein, Seafood