It’s true that weight loss positively affects triglyceride levels, but not all diets do this, but the keto diet is among the weight loss diets that have this ability.
How do you lower triglycerides through a diet?
A person with high triglycerides can simply lower them with a diet. It doesn’t have to be a low-fat diet. It can be high in fat but of higher quality. Also, the triglyceride diet should not only focus on fat, but also on sugar. Carbohydrates also play an important role like fat in increasing blood triglyceride levels.
List of diets that can lower triglycerides
The Dukan diet
The Dukan diet looks a bit like the ketogenic diet, but there are many differences between them in reality. The Dukan diet has shown its effectiveness in lowering bad cholesterol and triglycerides as well.
Read also: Keto diet VS Dukan diet?
The Tao diet
The Tao diet is one of the recommended diets for good health. It is a Chinese diet that aims to find pleasure in eating. It removes all processed foods such as viennoiseries, white flour, white pasta, etc.. It is also similar to the hypotoxic diet, which is low in toxins, and for this reason, the Tao diet is effective in fighting high blood triglycerides.
Plant-based diet
The vegetarian diet as well as the vegan diet, both are effective in reducing triglycerides and high cholesterol blood levels. However, it is important to choose the right quality of food because French fries are also vegan!
How can the keto diet help you lower triglycerides?
The keto diet helps to reduce triglycerides, much more in people sensitive to carbohydrates. Because the keto diet is very low in carbohydrates.
The keto diet can also reduce high cholesterol and triglyceride levels in people who are sensitive to fats because it is a diet that requires you to choose the best fat quality to eat.
Good Fat quality
In the keto diet, especially the clean keto diet, you need to eat better fat quality.
- Olive oil
- Beef
- Grass-fed chicken
- Grassfed eggs in moderation
Low in carbs
Triglycerides actually are related also to carbs. Bad carbohydrate intake can also lead to high triglyceride levels in people who are sensitive to sugar and fat or people with a family history.
The Keto diet is a low-carb diet so it helps to reduce triglycerides in people who are sensitive to carbs.
Weightloss diet
Weight loss will lead to the elimination of the fat stored in our body and therefore lower the triglycerides.
In this study published in 2006, the researchers have confirmed that the Keto diet improves the lipid profile in obese people. This means better results on cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
This study also shows that a low-carb diet is healthy to be followed in the long term in the right way without being afraid provided that it must be prescribed by a nutrition specialist like a dietitian to be sure of its effectiveness and its safety.
What are the triglycerides levels found in keto diet followers?
Another study published in ACP ( American college of physicians), has shown that people that followed the keto diet had a great decrease in triglyceride levels −0.84 mmol/L which is a great result! The stranger is that their triglyceride levels are decreased by only−0.31 mmol/L by following a simple LOW-FAT DIET.
To put it simply, getting rid of bad triglyceride levels is not just a matter of following a low-fat diet. Instead, you need to follow a low-carb diet but high in good-quality fats because good-quality fats will help eliminate the bad ones.
At the same time, take care of people who have high triglycerides because of their carbs sensitivity.
How do you know if someone is fat or sugar sensitive?
You can’t know just like that, it’s by giving them the diet that you can see their reaction, there are people who don’t eat fat, but they consume carbohydrates and they develop high levels of triglycerides. This shows that they have triglycerides by sensitivity to carbohydrates.
Does really ketosis cause high triglyceride levels?
The previous studies I mentioned above have emphasized the effect of the keto diet on the lipid profile over the long term. Because in the beginning there is a process called ketosis that can cause high triglyceride levels, I will explain why and how this happens.
Ketosis is the consequence of fat breakdown so that it becomes carbohydrates to be used by the body (the body cannot immediately use the fat as energy till it turns it into carbs).
The process of fat breaking down leads to a release of triglycerides and fatty acids, which is the composition of the stored fat (fatty acids + triglycerides).
When we start the ketogenic diet and we were eating fat before we start it, the triglycerides released by the process of ketosis + the triglycerides already present in our blood will accumulate and cause high levels of triglycerides in the body. But from the 8th week, The good results will come.
I have high triglyceride levels while doing the keto diet, why?
When you are on the ketogenic diet and triglyceride levels are still high, this may be due to several reasons.
1 – You didn’t wait enough time
When doing the ketogenic diet, you must wait a few weeks to have good results, because at the beginning of diet especially the first 3 weeks you may have high triglyceride levels. But this is not serious, by continuing with the keto diet, you will have the expected results (read the previous paragraph).
2- You are badly doing the keto diet
Remember that even though the keto diet is a high-fat diet, it still requires you to consume the right source of fat (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated).
If not, decrease the number of carbohydrates you consume per day to 20g/d. It’s better if you ask for a dietitian’s help before you start it.
3- Tobacco
Even if you are following the ketogenic diet properly, but you continue to smoke, this may increase your triglyceride levels, as smoking increases TG blood levels.
4- Alcohol
Like tobacco, alcohol can also cause high cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Try not to drink more than 2 glasses a day.
5- Processed Food
Processed foods can also have a negative impact on your health. They actually contain additives that can increase triglyceride and cholesterol levels in the blood.
For example, there are those who buy refined olive oil. Look for organic olive oil instead.
6- Sedentary lifestyle
If you are not moving and not doing any physical activity, this can also have a negative impact on triglycerides. Brisk walking for at least 35 minutes a day is an effective way to lower triglycerides.
7- Stress
Stress is the gateway to illness. You can’t be physically well if you are not morally well. Regular physical activity can reduce stress.
What are keto foods that can raise triglyceride levels?
- Refined olive oil
- Lamb and mutton meat, especially the neck
- Chicken neck and thighs
- Eggs: You should not eat more than 3 egg yolks per week if you have high triglyceride levels, you can eat the egg white only.
- Cheese
- Butter: In moderation, use vegetable butter
- Whole milk and whole milk yogurt: prefer plain greek yogurt
- Alcohol
Mistakes that cause triglycerides in the keto diet
The big mistake that people make, especially those who suffer from heart disease such as high triglyceride levels, is to focus on animal protein and good quality fat, and forget that on the keto diet you should also eat enough vegetables.
Eat 5 to 6 servings of vegetables a day!
Dirty Keto, Clean Keto, or the traditional keto to lower triglycerides?
Dirty keto and clean keto are both low-carb diets derived from the standard keto diet.
- Dirty keto: Allows processed foods and does not focus on good quality foods and allows alcohol.
- Clean keto: Consists of choosing only good quality proteins and fats which are grass-fed ones, and eating in moderation some foods like eggs. The clean keto unlike the dirty keto does not allow alcohol.
Clean Keto Vs Dirty keto for high triglycerides
The dirty keto should be eliminated in case of heart disease or family history. Processed foods, as I explained in the previous section, are very harmful to heart health and can increase triglycerides.
The traditional Keto VS The clean keto for high triglycerides
The standard method of keto diet, as shown in the studies I have mentioned above, is effective in lowering triglycerides. But the clean keto diet is an improved version that was created to correct the dietary errors that the keto diet had.
For more details: Traditional Keto Vs Clean keto: what’s the difference?
Typical clean keto menu for people with high triglycerides
Breakfast
- Semi-skimmed milk with organic oatmeal
- Raw vegetables seasoned with olive oil and cider vinegar (avoid mayonnaise and other sauces)
- A hard-boiled egg
(It ‘s important not to skip breakfast because it is very important).
Lunch
- Green vegetable soup or a green salad as a starter
- Green beans in sauce with beef
- 100g of cottage cheese
- 40g of keto bread made with coconut flour (2 slices)
- ½ avocado
Appetizer
- 8 portions of almonds or peanuts ( or mixed).
Dinner
- Green salad or vegetable soup
- Miso soup
- Grilled or cooked pork in sauce
- plain yogurt
- ½ avocado
Bottom Line
Finally, the ketogenic diet has proven to be effective in combating lipid disorders such as high blood cholesterol and triglycerides.
Despite this, studies have continued to find a healthier keto version for these diseases, which is why they created the clean keto version that is now the cleanest way to fight against bad fats in the blood. However, this does not mean that this diet does not have a negative impact on people’s health, and a triglyceride diet can be balanced and effective at the same time.
