High Triglycerides Diet

While consuming moderate amounts of alcohol does not appear to affect TG levels, heavy drinking is believed to be an important cause of hypertriglyceridemia. Alcoholics with elevated TG levels should deal with the disease of alcoholism first.

Ingesting refined sugar increases TG levels, as well. People with elevated TGs should therefore reduce their intake of sugar, sweets, and other sugar-containing foods. There is also evidence that ingesting fructose in amounts that are found in a typical Western diet can raise TG levels, although not all studies agree on that point. It should be noted that most studies of fructose investigated the refined form, not the fructose that occurs naturally in some fruits.

In a study of heavy caffeine users (individuals who were consuming an average of 560 mg of caffeine per day from coffee and tea), changing to decaffeinated coffee and eliminating all other caffeinated products for two weeks resulted in a statistically significant 25% reduction in TG levels.

Diets high in fiber have reduced TG levels in several clinical trials, but have had no effect in other clinical trials. Water-soluble fibers, such as pectin found in fruit, guar gum and other gums found in beans, and beta-glucan found in oats, may be particularly helpful in lowering triglycerides...