If you've ever felt confused about what triglycerides are and why they matter, you're not alone. Understanding what high triglycerides mean — and how to lower them — is key to your long-term health. Here's the simple version.
What are triglycerides?
Triglycerides are a type of fat — in fact, the most common one in your body. Their job is to store the calories you eat but don't use right away. Between meals, hormones release triglycerides to give you the energy you need.
That energy reserve is normal and healthy. But unlike a savings account, too much stored fat works against you over time.
Triglycerides are easily measured with a routine blood test. A normal level is below 150 mg/dL when fasting. Between 150 and 199 mg/dL is considered borderline, 200 to 499 mg/dL is high, and above 500 mg/dL is very high and needs medical attention. Learn more about what your levels mean.
Why are high triglycerides dangerous?
Too many triglycerides, combined with unhealthy cholesterol levels, contribute to the hardening and thickening of artery walls — a process called arteriosclerosis — which raises the risk of heart attack, stroke, and heart disease. At very high levels, they can also cause acute inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis). Learn more about triglycerides and heart health.
"When I review a lipid panel, triglycerides tell me a lot about a patient's lifestyle," explains Dr. Juan Rivera, board-certified cardiologist and co-founder of Santo Remedio. "The good news is that, of all the numbers on the panel, triglycerides are among the fastest to respond to habit changes. You can see real improvement in weeks."
High triglycerides also tend to go hand in hand with abdominal weight gain, which in turn contributes to heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
What causes high triglycerides?
The truth is simple, even if it's not what you want to hear: eating more calories than you use. And excess calories hide easily in the foods many of us love: sodas, processed foods, sugar, and refined carbohydrates.
How to lower triglycerides naturally
The recommendations for reducing triglycerides all point the same way: small, consistent changes make a big difference.
Cut refined sugars
This is the most important change. Eliminating sugary drinks — sodas, sports drinks, and even juices — gives you a major head start. Sugar also hides in seemingly healthy foods like granola bars, wheat bread, and pasta sauce. Read labels carefully and choose options with little added sugar.
Add more fiber
Fiber helps lower triglycerides. Whole grains, beans, and nuts are excellent sources. Add chopped apple to your oatmeal or lentils to your next soup.
Choose fresh foods
Cook and eat fresh foods as much as you can, and skip the ultra-processed products on supermarket shelves. Include fatty fish like salmon or sardines — their natural omega-3s support healthy triglyceride levels.
Move more
It may sound like the advice for everything, but for triglycerides, it makes an enormous difference. Consistency is what counts: studies show that regular exercise, sustained over time, can dramatically lower your levels. Start simple — walk with a friend or dance some salsa.
Use supplements wisely
New: Triglyceride+, our daily formula designed specifically to support healthy triglyceride and cholesterol levels already within a normal range. It combines bergamot extract with flush-free niacin — meaning the lipid-metabolism benefits of niacin without the uncomfortable warm, flushed feeling traditional niacin can cause. Two capsules a day, taken consistently, as part of your long-term wellness routine.
"Bergamot and niacin are two of the best-supported ingredients in the world of lipid support," says Dr. Juan Rivera. "That's why we wanted to bring them together in one formula designed to accompany — not replace — good habits."
Cholesterol Plus was formulated to support healthy cholesterol levels as part of a balanced lifestyle. And if sugar is your weak spot, Berberine Slim Fit can complement your efforts to manage blood sugar and metabolism — exactly the fronts that influence triglycerides most.
Triglycerides aren't as complicated as they seem. Small but consistent changes really can lower your levels — and protect your liver and heart along the way.
Let's get healthier, together.
The Santo Remedio team
