What Are Triglycerides?
Updated on August 13, 2026
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Related to high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or “good”) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or “bad”) cholesterol, triglycerides are a type of fat found in your blood, and they are the most common form of body fat. They are stored in fat cells when the body takes in extra calories. When your body needs energy, hormones convert these triglycerides into usable energy.
If you regularly eat more calories than you burn, you are more likely to have high triglyceride levels. Having high triglycerides can raise your risk of having heart disease, a heart attack, or a stroke.
High triglyceride levels are associated with type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome — a constellation of symptoms that includes obesity, high blood sugar, high blood pressure, and low levels of HDL cholesterol, or so-called “good” cholesterol.
Triglyceride Levels: What’s Healthy?
You can find out what your triglyceride levels are by asking your healthcare provider for a lipid panel, a type of simple blood test that measures both cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood.
Triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol are measured in milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) of blood. A lipid panel also includes a total cholesterol count. Your doctor may ask you to fast prior to having your blood drawn for a lipid panel.
The following numbers indicate the range of triglyceride levels for adults:
- Normal Less than 150 mg/dL
- Borderline High 150 to 199 mg/dL
- High 200 to 499 mg/dL
- Very High 500 mg/dL and above
What Causes High Triglycerides?
Eating more calories than you burn consistently can raise your triglycerides above normal levels.
Foods particularly rich in saturated fat or processed carbohydrates (like sugar or refined grains) can contribute to abnormal triglyceride levels. Consuming these calorie-rich foods results in conversions to triglycerides that are stored in fat cells.
High triglycerides are also a symptom of poorly controlled type 2 diabetes.
Conditions that affect thyroid and kidney function are also linked to high triglyceride levels. Some people may also have a genetic predisposition to high triglyceride levels known as familial hypertriglyceridemia.
Some prescription drugs — including beta-blockers, birth control pills, hormone replacement therapy, steroids, and diuretics — can also elevate your triglyceride levels.
How to Reduce High Triglycerides
Typically, adopting healthy lifestyle choices can help you keep your triglyceride levels in check.
For example, your doctor may recommend:
Limit Sweets and Other Highly Processed Simple Carbohydrates Eating foods high in sugar and simple carbohydrates, like white flour and white rice, can raise your triglycerides.
Swap Foods Rich in Saturated Fat for Vegetable Oil and Omega-3-Rich Foods Saturated fats, which are found in most animal and dairy products, can raise triglyceride levels. In addition, cooking with vegetable oils like olive oil and canola oil can help manage both high triglycerides and high cholesterol. Limiting consumption of beef and pork and eating more foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, canned sardines, and mackerel, can also help manage high triglycerides.
Limit or Stop Drinking Alcohol High in both calories and sugar, alcoholic drinks can increase your triglyceride levels, along with having many other negative health effects.
Get Regular Exercise For optimal heart and general health, the American Heart Association recommends getting at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise each week, preferably split up over several days. If you’re new to a regular exercise routine, low-impact aerobic exercises are a good way to get started.
Maintain a Healthy Weight If you have high triglycerides, even a small amount of weight loss (in the 5- to 10-pound range) can lower your levels.
Medications That Lower Triglycerides
Sometimes, lifestyle changes alone may not lower your triglyceride levels. If that’s the case, your doctor will prescribe a medication, such as:
Statins Also known as HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, statins are a class of drugs that prevent cholesterol from forming in the liver. They are most effective at lowering LDL cholesterol, but they can also lower triglycerides and increase HDL cholesterol.
Fish Oil In medium to large doses, omega-3 fatty acids can help lower triglyceride levels. The most common supplement is over-the-counter fish oil, but your doctor may prescribe a prescription omega-3 supplement.
Fibrates These medications lower overall triglyceride levels by reducing the liver’s production of VLDLs, which carry triglycerides to other areas in your body. They include gemfibrozil (Lopid) and fenofibrate (Fibricor, Tricor). Fibrates may increase your risk of side effects if taken with a statin.
Niacin Also known as nicotinic acid or vitamin B3, niacin is a B vitamin that can raise HDL cholesterol while lowering levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides. Because niacin can interact with other medications and may cause side effects, don’t take over-the-counter niacin without first discussing it with your doctor.
Resources We Trust
- Mayo Clinic: Triglycerides: Why Do They Matter?
- Cleveland Clinic: Triglycerides
- MedlinePlus: Triglycerides
- Mass General Brigham: Triglyceride Levels: What the Numbers Mean for Heart Health
- NewYork-Presbyterian: High Triglycerides: What They Mean for Your Heart and How to Lower Them
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
- HDL (Good), LDL (Bad) Cholesterol and Triglycerides. American Heart Association. March 13, 2026.
- Triglycerides: Why Do They Matter? Mayo Clinic. January 21, 2026.
- Lipid Panel. Cleveland Clinic. December 9, 2024.
- Understanding Triglycerides. Harvard Health Publishing. July 24, 2023.
- Familial Hypertriglyceridemia. MedlinePlus. April 28, 2026.
- Herink MC et al. Medication Induced Changes in Lipids and Lipoproteins. Endotext. September 2, 2025.
- Triglycerides. Cleveland Clinic. August 9, 2023.
- Oliver D. Nutrition: Fats. University of Delaware. August 2025.
- American Heart Association Recommendations for Physical Activity in Adults and Kids. American Heart Association. January 19, 2024.
- Bhattacharya R. How to Lower Triglycerides With Medications and Lifestyle Changes. Mass General Brigham. December 9, 2025.
- Feingold KR. Cholesterol Lowering Drugs. Endotext. April 23, 2026.
- Wang T et al. Association Between Omega‐3 Fatty Acid Intake and Dyslipidemia: A Continuous Dose–Response Meta‐Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Journal of the American Heart Association. June 2, 2023.
- Fibrates. Cleveland Clinic. February 10, 2022.
- Niacin for Cholesterol. MedlinePlus. February 9, 2026.
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