Triglycer-what(?) well, seems I’ve had to start a dramatic change in my diet, Triglycerides, similar to cholesterol can lead to major problems ie: heart disease and stroke if left unmanaged. Now, for someone that really does not eat that much ‘rubbish’ food, it indeed came as a shock. This new ‘diet’.. does strike you as pretty damn boring, for ‘allowable’ sort of foods.. has left me preferring to starve at times… lol. Although, I do love kale and spinach and other listed foods.. it’s for the most part pretty boring to get the ‘triglycerides’ down. Serious as it is, even though it’s in the ‘high’ range.. I have cut coffee out and it’s sadly missed (along with cigarettes about 8 months ago… life just is not fair, hey?). Decided to share this information, especially if you don’t feel the need to diet as such, it’s a good time to look at balancing your ratio of alkaline vs acid foods, (if you haven’t already) for the long term and look after your health into the future. I sure wish I had done this sooner, apart from exercising more and my diet balance as am not a ‘drinker’ nor overweight per se.

[Edit: after about 1 & 1/2 mths on a strict, legumes, no white breads/pasta and full leafy greens (and other ideas noted below), only foods that were highly alkaline; I lost the high triglyceride count, which has not returned and this diet; more like a dietary regime, is also awesome to lose pounds quickly as well]

Triglycerides are a type of fat (lipid) found in your blood. When you eat, your body converts any calories it doesn’t need to use right away into triglycerides. The triglycerides are stored in your fat cells. Later, hormones release triglycerides for energy between meals. If you regularly eat more calories than you burn, particularly “easy” calories like carbohydrates and fats, you may have high triglycerides (hypertriglyceridemia).

The main way to deal with high triglyceride levels is by eating a healthier diet and getting more exercise. Some guidelines to help manage triglyceride levels:

Moderate exercise on five or more days each week can help lower triglyceride levels.
Losing 5%-10% of your weight can lower triglycerides. People with a healthy weight are more likely to have normal triglyceride levels. Belly fat is associated with higher levels.
Reducing saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol in your diet can improve triglyceride levels and help manage cholesterol. Eating less carbohydrates in your diet will also help lower triglyceride levels.
Drinking alcohol can raise triglyceride levels. Some studies show that drinking more than one drink a day for women or two for men can raise triglyceride levels by a lot. Some people with high triglycerides may need to cut out alcohol entirely.
Eating more fish high in omega-3s can lower triglyceride levels. Fish like mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna, and salmon are high in omega-3s. It may be hard to get enough omega-3s from food to help lower your triglycerides. Your doctor may recommend a supplement or prescription omega-3s.
A simple blood test can reveal whether your triglycerides fall into a healthy range.
- Normal — Less than 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), or less than 1.7 millimoles per liter (mmol/L)
- Borderline high — 150 to 199 mg/dL (1.8 to 2.2 mmol/L)
- High — 200 to 499 mg/dL (2.3 to 5.6 mmol/L)
- Very high — 500 mg/dL or above (5.7 mmol/L or above)
Your doctor will usually check for high triglycerides as part of a cholesterol test (sometimes called a lipid panel or lipid profile). You’ll have to fast for nine to 12 hours before blood can be drawn for an accurate triglyceride measurement.

Choose foods high in fiber. Many foods that you consider healthy have fiber — most fruits, colorful vegetables, and whole grains. Help yourself to oranges, pears, Brussels sprouts, carrots, beans, and oats — all excellent sources of fiber. It’s worth it to train your taste buds because eating more fiber:

Helps remove LDL “bad” cholesterol from your body
Lowers triglycerides
Lowers high blood pressure
Reduces your risk of developing diabetes (and helps you manage blood sugar if you already have diabetes)
May help you lose weight

When food is properly combined, the digestive abilities are accelerated, and the nutrients are quickly absorbed for optimum nutrition which provides you, the person or athlete, with power, strength and endurance for peak, physiological or athletic performance. When foods are not properly combined, indigestion is the result, the proteins putrefy, and starches and sugars ferment, poisoning the body on a cellular level. It is important for body cells to maintain a high level of cellular energy to attain, and maintain, optimum health through an alkaline medium. An 80/20 ratio of alkaline to acid foods to create the optimal pH balance for good health.

Acidified body cells become weak and lead to various unhealthy and low-grade body tissue conditions and diseases, such as low-grade acidosis, chronic acidosis, nutrient deficiencies, bone diseases, arthritis, muscular weakness and diseases, organic ligament damage, cancer, strokes, heart disease, colon disease, and a host of digestive problems that rob you of the energy your body cells require.

The theory is that a high-acid diet creates a breeding ground for disease and leads to poor health. “If you’re getting aching joints, gaining weight, craving carbs or sugar, or you have brain fog, then you’re running too acidic,” Laubscher says. via Why Elle McPherson loves the alkaline diet at Body & Soul

Is your diet Alkaline or Acidic..?

Why? Acidified body cells are robbed of the oxygen and energy that is required to maintain a strong and healthy immune system that can quickly help your body cells to repair, regenerate and replenish the cellular nerve energy, power, strength and endurance in your bones, muscles, and ligaments, for the maximum performance of all physiological and biological functions of the body.

Lowering Triglycerides and a list of food to help the process

To decrease intake of saturated fat, the emphasis of your diet should be on consumption of vegetables, fruits, breads, cereals, rice, legumes, and pasta, skim milk and skim milk products, poultry, fish, and lean meat’ as per the Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) diet recommended by the National Cholesterol Education Program of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. The Program suggests consuming no more than 200 mg of dietary cholesterol a day.

this-is-how-your-plate-should-look_healthy eating — Various Health Guides at One Medical

Food as Medicine at One Medicals’ Blog / Website

1. Whole Grains

Whole grain breads, pasta, cereals, brown rice, basmati rice are foods high in complex carbohydrates and fiber. For example, a cup of cooked oatmeal provides 4g of fiber. Whole grains also provide some protein, and are generally low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and total fat. Six or more servings per day are recommended.

2. Legumes and Peas

Dry beans and peas are good sources of plant protein and are fiber-rich. They should be substituted for foods high in saturated fat, cholesterol, and total fat, but eat only 5 ounce (aprox. 142g) per day of plant protein sources. Dry peas, beans, and legumes can be used in nutritious, tasty, lower fat entrees or accompaniments.

3. Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables are major sources of vitamins C, E, and A, beta-carotene, other vitamins, fiber, and some minerals and help in lowering high cholesterol levels. The TLC diet recommends eating 2 to 4 servings of fruit each day and 3 to 5 servings of vegetables a day to lower LDL cholesterol. Apples, grapes, strawberries, and citrus fruits are rich in pectin, a type of soluble fiber that lowers LDL. Similarly, vegetables are well endowed with fiber and nutrients such as lipoic acid and vitamins. Vegetables that can help lower triglyceride levels include potato, sweet potato, mushroom, tomato, broccoli, Brussels sprout, spinach, and many others.

4. Flaxseed

Lower omega-6 / omega-3 ratio is desirable to reduce chronic diseases. Researchers have found that a ratio of 4 /1 was important in preventing cardiovascular disease. In order to attain this, you need to increase your omega-3 intake. Flaxseed is very rich in omega-3. This is evident from the fact that 2 tablespoons of flaxseed contains almost 133 percent of the daily requirement for omega-3. But you have to grind the flaxseed to allow your body to absorb the omega-3 fatty acids. Flaxseed is very high in fiber and helps reduce cholesterol.

5. Fatty Fish

Eating fatty fish is beneficial for your heart since these too are rich in omega-3. The American Heart Association recommends eating at least two servings or 5 ounces of fish a week. Examples of fatty fish include salmon, halibut, lake trout, mackerel, sardines and tuna. Avoid frying them in saturated fats. It is best to consume them baked or grilled. Shellfish are low in saturated fat but vary in their cholesterol content. Shrimp are relatively high in cholesterol, but of course, it can be eaten occasionally.

6. Olive Oil

Olive oil is a low-triglyceride substitute for saturated fats. It comes as extra-virgin, virgin, or light (highly processed). Choose extra-virgin or virgin oils since they are less processed and thus have higher antioxidant content. One of the benefits of olive oil is that it lowers the LDL (bad) cholesterol but keeps the HDL (good) cholesterol in tact. However, olive oil too is high in calories, so don’t consume more than 2 tablespoons a day to keep your heart healthy and cholesterol levels low.

7. Egg Whites

Egg whites contain no cholesterol, and they can be eaten often. Replace whole eggs with egg whites or commercial egg substitutes or reduced-cholesterol egg products in your diet as whole eggs contain 215mg of cholesterol per egg. Limit egg yolks to two a week.

8. Lean Meat and Poultry

You can eat up to 5 ounce per day of lean meat and poultry. Remember to trim visible fats from the lean meats. Lean meat is rich in protein, contains a highly absorbable iron, and is a good source of zinc and vitamin B12. ‘Lean meat can contribute to maintenance of iron stores in pre-menopausal women’, says the NIH. Chicken and turkey are good sources of lean protein and to some extent, iron. Removing the skin and underlying fat layers substantially reduces the fat content. Cook poultry in ways that minimize the addition of saturated fat.

9. Milk and Milk Products

I personally try and stick to Almond Milk.. Almond milk is a plant milk manufactured from almonds with a creamy texture and nutty taste. It contains neither cholesterol nor lactose, and is often consumed by those who are lactose-intolerant and others who wish to avoid dairy products, including vegans. Commercial almond milk comes in sweetened, unsweetened, plain, vanilla and chocolate flavors, and is usually enriched with vitamins. It can also be made at home using a blender, almonds and water.^[1] It is traditionally consumed through much of the Mediterranean. Milk and milk products are important sources of protein, calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D. Fat-free milk and other fat-free or low-fat (1 percent fat) dairy products provide as much or more calcium and protein than whole milk dairy products, with little or no saturated fat. Fat-free milk or 1-percent-fat milk, fat-free or low-fat cheese, 1 percent fat cottage cheese, and fat-free or low-fat yogurt are good choices, according to the TLC diet.

10. Tree Nuts

Tree nuts such as walnut, almond, hazel nut, pine nut, pistachio, and host of other nuts help reduce cholesterol and are heart healthy. Nuts are high in calories, so restrict yourself to about 42g of nuts a day. Read more:

Dr Oz on: Triglyceride Reduction Grocery list, Featuring Salmon, Spinach, Beans, Fruit, Olive Oil & Grapes.

Healthy Recipes at The Heart Foundation

via the Alkaline Sisters: Each food item below is assigned a number which reflects its approximate value of alkalinity (+) or acidity (-) in one ounce of food. The higher the number, the better it is for you to eat. Referenced from Dr. Robert O. Young, The pH Miracle Book.

Is Your Diet Alkaline or Acidic?

What’s the difference between triglycerides and cholesterol?

Triglycerides and cholesterol are separate types of lipids that circulate in your blood. Triglycerides store unused calories and provide your body with energy, and cholesterol is used to build cells and certain hormones. Because triglycerides and cholesterol can’t dissolve in blood, they circulate throughout your body with the help of proteins that transport the lipids (lipoproteins).

A good article on eating clean, with tips

0 calorie foods

Article Via Body and Soul

Alkaline or Acidic?

(Q) I have heard it is better for your health to be more alkaline than acidic. What exactly does this mean and how do you go about becoming more alkaline?

(A) For decades, natural health practitioners have recommended a diet that “alkalises” the bloodstream. The premise is that diseases including cancer, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis and gout are influenced by dietary acid-alkaline balance. For example, osteoporosis may be caused by a chronic intake of acid-forming foods consistently outweighing the intake of alkaline foods. This leads to the bones being forced to give up their alkaline minerals (calcium and magnesium) in order to buffer the excess acid.

Our body likes to be in a state of steady balance, also known as homeostasis, where blood pressure, hormone levels, temperature and pH levels remain in a certain safe range. pH is a measure of acid versus base (alkali) and different parts of the body need different pH levels.

For instance, blood needs to hover around a pH of 7.4 (slightly alkaline), whereas stomach acid should be a corrosive two to three, in order to kill bacteria.

Establishing pH balance

The dietary goal is quite simple: ensure you have a higher intake of alkaline-producing foods than acid-producing ones. An alkaline diet is rich in vegetables and fruit, while avoiding an over-consumption of grains, meat and dairy.

There is a difference between acidic foods and acid-forming foods. While some foods may taste acidic, they can actually have an alkalising effect on the body. What determines the pH nature of the food in the body is the metabolic end products when it is digested and the minerals absorbed into the bloodstream. For example, the citric acid in citrus fruit is metabolised to its alkaline form (citrate).

It’s important to remember that, like everything in life, it’s about balance. We need to eat some acid-forming foods too. Foods that are alkaline-forming include vegetables, fruit, herbs, soybeans and tofu. Acid-forming foods are grains, cheese, peanuts, prawns, meat and chicken.

via Body and Soul and ‘Why Elle McPherson decided on an Alkaline diet‘

Two years ago, Elle Macpherson sat down with nutritional doctor Dr Simone Laubscher, who recalls that “she cried”. The model and mum’s seemingly healthy diet – no red meat, no alcohol and three litres of water daily, as well as numerous supplements – wasn’t working anymore. She was fed up with gaining weight and feeling bad, and she needed help.

Foods to Avoid if you have high Triglycerides

Cholesterol and Triglycerides at Aust Heart Foundation

Recipes and Healthy Eating at the Australian Heart Foundation

Alkaline Diet Recipes

Acid – Alkaline Diet

Alkaline – Acid Food Charts

Acid Alkaline Foods

Top Plant Based Proteins

more on Plant Based Proteins + Food Matters

Step In2 My Green World