What Is a Normal Triglyceride Level?
Medically reviewed by Yasmine S. Ali, MD, MSCI
The normal range for triglycerides is less than 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) for adults. High triglycerides increase your risk of heart attack, stroke, and pancreatitis. Treatment for high triglycerides may include lifestyle changes and medications to lower triglyceride levels.
This article discusses what triglycerides are and what is considered normal levels. It also addresses the health risks of high triglycerides and ways to lower triglyceride levels.
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What Are Triglycerides?
Triglycerides are fats found in your blood. They are considered the most common type of fat in the body. Although they mostly come from food, your body can also make triglycerides. Your body needs some triglycerides to function normally, but high levels can cause health problems.
When you eat too much food, your body converts the extra calories into triglycerides and stores them in fat cells. Your body does this if it does not need to use the calories right away.
The next time you need more energy, your body's hormones can release triglycerides into the blood. Calories that come from fats and carbohydrates are more likely to be converted into triglycerides.
Normal Triglyceride Levels
Normal levels of triglycerides can vary based on your age, sex, and other factors. Your healthcare provider can measure triglycerides during a blood test called a lipid panel. The test does not measure triglycerides on their own. Instead, the test is a complete cholesterol panel that includes:
Triglycerides
Total cholesterol
High-density lipoprotein (HDL), or good cholesterol
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or bad cholesterol
Non-HDL cholesterol
It is important to get regular lipid panels. The blood test measures the levels in milligrams per deciliter of blood (mg/dL). You will see this measurement in the report.
The guidelines for triglyceride levels for adults are:
Normal level: less than 150 mg/dL
Borderline high level: 150 mg/dL–199 mg/dL
High level: 200 mg/dL–499 mg/dL
Very high level: 500 mg/dL and above
The guidelines for triglyceride levels in children are lower than in adults.
For children under 10 years old, the guidelines are:
Normal level: under 75 mg/dl
Borderline high level: 75–99 mg/dl
High level: over 100 mg/dl
The guidelines for children and teenagers ages 10–19 are:
Normal level: under 90 mg/dl
Borderline high level: 90–129 mg/dl
High level: over 130 mg/dl
Risks Factors for High Triglycerides
Although there isn't a most common cause of high triglycerides, your risk is higher if you have:
Obesity or overweight
Excess alcohol, saturated fat, and sugar intake
Sedentary lifestyle
Metabolic syndrome or insulin resistance
Hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid)
Inflammatory diseases
Family history of high triglycerides
How Do Triglyceride Levels Compare with Cholesterol Levels?
Triglycerides and cholesterol are two different types of blood fats. If you have high triglycerides, you are more likely to also have high total cholesterol and high bad (LDL) cholesterol levels. Many people with high triglycerides also have low good (HDL) cholesterol levels.
Both triglycerides and cholesterol are measured in mg/dL. Triglycerides and each type of cholesterol have their own recommended normal level.
How Often Should Triglycerides Get Checked?
How often you need triglycerides checked depends on your age (the risk of high triglycerides increases with age), sex, and your risk of developing heart disease.
Your healthcare provider may order a lipid profile, which includes a triglycerides test, as part of a regular checkup. If you are being treated for high cholesterol and/or triglycerides, you may need this test repeated to see how well your treatment is working.
The general age recommendations for testing blood lipid levels are:
For ages 2 to 19:
Start testing between ages nine and 11. Repeat the test every five years.
If there is a family history of high blood cholesterol, heart attack, stroke, or other risks for developing heart disease, test as early as age two.
For ages 20 and older, tests should be done:
Every five years for males between ages 20 and 45; females between ages 20 and 55
Every 1 to 2 years for males age 45 and older; females age 55 and older
Every year for adults over age 65
You may need to be tested more often if you have a higher risk for heart disease.
Risks of High Levels
When your triglyceride levels are too high, you have a greater risk of cardiovascular disease. High triglycerides may lead to fatty deposits (plaques) forming in the arteries. Plaque buildup increases your risk of having a heart attack or a stroke.
High triglycerides are considered one of the signs of metabolic syndrome. The syndrome's other signs are:
Increased waist circumference
Metabolic syndrome may cause diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
Very high triglycerides may also affect your pancreas and cause acute inflammation (pancreatitis). It may lead to tissue damage in the pancreas.
Symptoms of High Triglycerides
High triglycerides rarely cause symptoms, which is why testing them regularly is important.
When high triglycerides are untreated and get very high (over 500 mg/dL), it can lead to complications like disease, stroke, pancreatitis, or damage to eye blood vessels and skin on the back, chest, arms, and legs.
Can Triglycerides Be Too Low?
In general, having low triglyceride levels is not considered a problem. If your triglyceride levels are less than 150mg/dL, you have a lower risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attack or stroke.
However, if your triglyceride levels are extremely low and less than 40mg/dL, then you may have a medical condition or disease, such as liver problems or inflammation. Your risk of dying from heart failure is also higher if triglycerides are too low.
Other causes of very low triglyceride levels include:
Very low-fat diets
Fasting for long periods of time
Malnutrition, which means your body is not getting enough nutrients
Malabsorption, which means your body cannot absorb nutrients
Hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid)
Taking cholesterol-lowering drugs like statins
Ways to Lower Triglyceride Levels
Your healthcare provider will make recommendations to lower triglyceride levels if they are too high. You may need to make lifestyle changes or take medications. The recommended changes will depend on how high your triglycerides are and if you have other medical conditions.
Lifestyle Changes
You may need to make lifestyle changes so that your triglyceride levels decrease. Ask your healthcare provider about recommendations, and reach out to family and friends for support.
Lifestyle changes for borderline triglyceride levels may include:
Exercising more—The American Heart Association recommends at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, or 75 minutes per week of vigorous aerobic activity, or a combination of both, preferably spread throughout the week.
Losing weight
Eating a healthy diet, including plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, poultry, fish, and nuts.
Drinking less alcohol
Quitting smoking
Limiting sugar, unhealthy fats, and processed foods, such as fast food, fried foods, sweets and baked goods, sweet drinks, and processed snack foods.
Eating more healthy fats, including nuts, seeds, avocado, olive and canola oil.
Lifestyle changes for high and very high triglyceride levels may include:
Eating a very low-fat diet
Losing more weight
Taking medicines
Sometimes despite having a healthy diet and being active, triglycerides can still be high. In some cases, genetics (family history), medical history, and medications can play a part (although this is much less common).
Medications
There are medications that can cause high triglycerides, and others that can lower it. Your healthcare provider may recommend lifestyle changes before prescribing medications. Make sure you talk to your healthcare provider before making any changes or stopping a medicine.
Medications that may raise triglycerides include:
Blood pressure medications
Steroids
Diuretics
HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) treatments
Estrogen
Birth control pills
Beta-blockers
Medications that lower triglycerides include:
Statins
Prescription niacin
Fibrates
Prescription fish oil
Many of the medications that lower triglycerides also lower bad cholesterol levels. Usually, your healthcare provider will recommend them if you also have high bad cholesterol and low good cholesterol.
Summary
Triglycerides are a type of blood fat that is important to monitor for your overall health. High triglyceride levels can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, and pancreatitis if untreated or uncontrolled.
Lifestyle changes are an important part of lowering triglycerides. Your diet has a big impact on these numbers. Talk to your healthcare provider about your results and discuss ways to improve your numbers, if needed. You may want to talk to a registered dietitian for support and suggestions to help you reach your health goals.
Read the original article on Verywell Health.
