All you need to know about what causes high triglycerides

For convenience, factors that causes high triglycerides and you can’t control can be further divided into 2 groups:

Medical conditions:

Regarding medical conditions, the causes of high triglycerides are categorized as:

Metabolic diseases

1 - Hypothyroidism

It is characterized by insufficient secretion of thyroid hormone in your body. Usually, hypothyroidism (decrease in thyroid gland functions) causes raise in your LDL “Bad” cholesterol, increased triglycerides levels or mixed hyperlipidemia.

Generally, the patient will suffer from manifestation of poor metabolism, like fatigue, increase in weight, depression, loss of memory, dry skin…..etc.

2 - Diabetes

If you have uncontrolled diabetes (either type l or type ll diabetes), you will be suffering from hypertriglyceridemia, which even become worse in case of ketosis.

Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) is an enzyme responsible for the conversion of triglycerides to energy and free fatty acids. LPL is regulated by insulin.

You might know that diabetes is caused by disturbance in insulin production and secretion. Diabetes type l is due to insufficient insulin, so hypertriglyceridemia will definitely occur.

While in type ll diabetes which is accompanied by hyperinsulinemia, elevated triglycerides levels are due elevated VLDL cholesterol levels, and LPL will become less effective in insulin resistant cases.

It refers to a lot of medical disorders which eventually lead to elevated triglycerides. Among those diseases is nephrotic syndrome which causes increase in VLDL and LDL levels, mixed hyperlipidemia, and hypertriglyceridemia.

Also severe hyperlipidemia is usually accompanied with massive increase in levels of proteins excreted in urine.

Liver disease

One important function of your liver is to utilize fats in your body, these fats are mostly triglycerides. That is why any impairment in liver functions causes elevated triglycerides.

Fatty liver involves replacement of normal liver cells with fats (such as triglycerides) due to increase of lipids in the blood. In late stages, liver inflammation and liver cirrhosis can occur.

Familial lipid diseases

Familial hypertriglyceridemia is a generic or inherited disease which causes very high levels of triglycerides and lead to early onset of heart diseases.

Drugs:

What causes high triglycerides can be a certain type of medications, which can also negatively influence LDL, VLDL levels in your blood, including birth control pills, estrogen substitutes, diuretics, beta-blockers, Tamoxifen, cyclosporine, retinoids, progesterone, and some new psychotic drugs.

Among factors which cause high triglycerides and you can control are:

Obesity

It is very common to see mild to moderate levels of hypertriglyceridemia in obese persons, mainly caused by LPL less efficiency and increased production of VLDL cholesterol.

When your diet is rich in carbohydrates, which means that more than 60% of your daily calories are from carbohydrates, then you will have high triglycerides in your blood.

Be careful, excess alcohol drinking also causes hypertriglyceridemia.

Elevated triglycerides levels are noticed in pregnant women especially in their last trimester.

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