You do want to eliminate high-fat foods and cut down on or avoid alcohol intake. Binge eating or binge drinking also can raise triglyceride levels. Statins can have a mild beneficial effect on reducing high triglyceride levels, on top of their good effects on cholesterol levels. In addition to a careful diet, exercise and resulting weight loss can dramatically reduce triglycerides. Extra weight around the waistline, in particular, is associated with increased triglycerides. In fact, metabolic syndrome, the precursor to adult onset diabetes, and frank, poorly controlled diabetes, are both linked to elevated triglyceride levels, so you do want to keep an eye on this as you get older.
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