Introduction
A long-standing association exists between elevated triglyceride levels and cardiovascular disease* (CVD).1,2 However, the extent to which triglycerides directly promote CVD or represent a biomarker of risk has been debated for 3 decades. To this end, 2 National Institutes of Health consensus conferences evaluated the evidentiary role of triglycerides in cardiovascular risk assessment and provided therapeutic recommendations for hypertriglyceridemic states…

Statement Summary and Recommendations
…Overall, the treatment of elevated triglyceride levels focuses on intensive therapeutic lifestyle change. For example, a 5% to 10% reduction in body weight anticipates
a triglyceride-lowering response of 20%. Further offsets in CHO calories by reducing added sugars and fructose while increasing unsaturated fat intake may contribute an additional 10% to 20% reduction in triglyceride levels. Elimination of trans fats, restriction of SFA, and increasing consumption of marine-based omega-3 products, coupled with aerobic activity, will further optimize triglyceride-lowering efforts. Taken together, reductions of 50% or more in triglyceride levels may be attained through intensive therapeutic lifestyle change. In subjects with very high triglyceride levels…

PMID: 21502576

See following web link for full manuscript