What can and can't I eat to lower triglycerides?

Trans fats may be toxic to the body, but saturated fats are extremely healthy - especially if you limit sugars & refined carbs. I am shocked that doctors would have a 25 year old male on drugs. Fructose, the sugar in most fruits, table sugar, corn syrup & agave creates the most triglycerides. High fructose corn syrup & sugar are in most products & hard to avoid. I would highly recommend you consider a low carb way of eating. You need to check with your doctor & monitor your levels because you will probably need to lower or eliminate them. It can be dangerous to take meds that lower these levels and do low carb at the same time because the levels will become dangerously low. There is no better way to bring the body to the state of optimal health than with a low carb way of eating. Low carb doesn't cause high blood pressure, high blood sugar or high cholesterol, it cures it. Simple carbohydrates trigger insulin. High insulin levels unbalance other hormones. Anything less that 9 grams of carbs per hour controls insulin and is considered low carb (up to 130 grams per day - 100g to maintain a ketogenic state). U.S. government guidelines were changed 35 years ago to suggest we lower our fat intake & increase our carb intake. American society followed these recommendations & lowered their fat intake by 11% & increased their carb consumption. In this same time frame obesity, diabetes, heart disease are all at epidemic levels. Through their direct effects on insulin & blood sugar, refined carbohydrates are the dietary cause of coronary heart disease & diabetes. The body does better with more saturated fat than less. Saturated fats are required to make many vitamins & minerals (even Omega 3 fatty acids) bioavailable so they can be incorporated into the body structure. Saturated fat is required for the body to function properly & to regenerate & heal. 7 Reasons to Eat More Saturated Fat 1) Improved cardiovascular risk factors Saturated fat in the diet is the only means to reduce the levels of lipoprotein (a) — that correlates strongly with risk for heart disease. Eating saturated fats raises the level of HDL, the good cholesterol. 2) Stronger bones 50% of dietary fats should be saturated fats for calcium to be incorporated into the bone structure, according to expert in human health, Mary Enig, Ph.D. 3) Improved liver health Studies show that saturated fat encourages the liver cells to dump fat content. Saturated fat has been shown to protect the liver from toxic insults & even to reverse the damage. 4) Healthy lungs The fat content of lung surfactant is 100% saturated fatty acids. Replacement of these critical fats by other types of fat makes faulty surfactant & potentially causes collapse of the airspaces & respiratory distress. 5) Healthy brain Your brain is mainly made of fat & cholesterol. Most of the fatty acids in the brain are actually saturated. The brain needs saturated fats to function optimally. 6) Proper nerve signaling & hormone production Certain saturated fats, found in butter, lard, coconut oil, function directly as signaling messengers that influence the metabolism. 7) Strong immune system Saturated fats found in butter & coconut oil play key roles in immune health. Loss of sufficient saturated fatty acids in the white blood cells hampers their ability to destroy viruses, bacteria, germs & fungi. We need them to keep the immune system vigilant against cancerous cells & infectious invaders. http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/06/06/saturated-fat/ Saturated fats play many important biologic roles. They are an integral component of cell membranes, which are 50% saturated fat. http://www.lewrockwell.com/miller/miller33.1.html Lipids (made from fatty acids) make up 60–80% of the central nervous system & need to be constantly replenished. Deficiency makes the nervous system vulnerable to the fat soluble metals, such as metallic mercury constantly escaping as vapor evaporating from the amalgam fillings. http://www.hbci.com/~wenonah/new/9steps.htm There never was one iota of scientific proof to condemn saturated fats as a cause of heart disease. Dietary fat, whether saturated or not, is not a cause of obesity, heart disease, or any other chronic disease of civilization. Through their direct effects on insulin & blood sugar, refined carbohydrates, starches and sugars are the dietary cause of coronary heart disease & diabetes. Plaque build up in the arteries are more attributable to carb consumption than dietary fats, which seems to be the conclusion of the following study. Carb consumption raises triglycerides & VLDL (bad cholesterol). Fats raise the HDL (good cholesterol). High triglyceride levels & low HDL levels are an indicator of plaque, glycation - the precursors to a heart attack and heart disease. http://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/after-eating-effects-carbohydrates-vs.html