Why do thin people who eat little fat still have high blood fat?

Many people think that eating a lot of fat and being overweight causes hyperlipidemia. However, experts say that in reality, many thin people who eat little fat also have hyperlipidemia. What is the cause?

Doctors find the cause of high levels of suspected acute pancreatitis - Photo: BVCC

Why do thin people who eat little fat still have high blood fat?

Doctor Duong Minh Tuan, Department of Endocrinology - Diabetes, Bach Mai Hospital, said that recently, doctors often examine young cases with very high blood fat.

There are cases where patients claim to eat very little fat, are thin, but have high blood fat levels that almost reach the threshold of acute pancreatitis.

Among them is a 42-year-old female patient who is a freelancer. The patient shared that she does not drink alcohol, eats very little greasy food, but loves sweets.

The patient said he often ate sweet desserts, candy, and drank a cup of iced milk coffee every morning. "This is the reason why the patient's blood fat is high," Dr. Tuan said.

The results of the examination and tests surprised the patient. When he held the prescription in his hand, the patient left but still felt hesitant so he came back to ask. When he heard the doctor's reason, the patient was "shocked" because he did not expect that sweets increase blood fat.

According to Dr. Tuan, eating a lot of sweets (soft drinks, candy, tea, etc.) makes the liver work harder to process excess sugar. When there is too much sugar, the liver will convert sugar into fat and then "push" this fat into the blood in the form of triglycerides.

"In particular, fructose (in soft drinks, syrups, dried fruits, etc.) turns into fat faster, causing blood fat to spike and easily causing fatty liver," Dr. Minh Tuan noted.

Through the case of the female patient above, Dr. Tuan recommends: "Don't think that just "eating less fat" is safe, because if you still consume a lot of sweets, the liver will continue to convert sugar into fat and push the triglyceride index up."

In addition, there are many cases where people eat moderately and exercise regularly but their triglycerides are still high. In that case, you should immediately think about genetic causes and go for a thorough examination to get an accurate diagnosis.

"Never think that because you are young or not fat, you are immune, because high blood fat can appear in anyone now," Dr. Tuan advised.

What should I eat when my blood fat is high?

According to Dr. Tran Van Chien - Department of Oriental Medicine, 108 Central Military Hospital, lipid metabolism disorder, also known as dyslipidemia, is one of the important symptoms of metabolic syndrome, which can directly cause a number of diseases that seriously affect health such as atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, pancreatitis, stroke...

"The main source of lipid metabolism disorders is food. People with lipid metabolism disorders, in addition to taking medication, also need to have a reasonable diet combined with regular exercise .

In fact, there are many foods that when eaten can also reduce blood lipids, sometimes without the need to use medication if you have mild blood lipid disorders," said Dr. Chien.

According to Dr. Chien, some plants and fruits we should use when blood fat is high are garlic, eggplant, onion, soybean, cucumber, seaweed, chili, cauliflower, bitter melon, apple, banana, kiwi, etc.

Garlic can increase HDL-cholesterol, reduce cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol in the blood and prevent atherosclerosis, prevent blood clot formation, and is a very valuable spice in preventing cardiovascular diseases.

However, eating garlic incorrectly can also lead to some side effects. Regularly eating garlic can easily lead to blepharitis or conjunctivitis.

In addition to its stimulating properties, garlic also has corrosive properties. If eaten in excess, it can damage the stomach lining, leading to stomach ulcers. Therefore, patients with stomach problems and eye inflammation should not use it.

Or soybeans are also very good food for people with high blood fat. Research shows that eating 100g of soybeans per day can reduce blood cholesterol by about 20%, especially significantly reducing LDL-cholesterol levels.

Moreover, soybeans are also a very good source of protein for the body and low in fat, so they are very good for heart health.

Apples have the effect of reducing blood fat because they contain a lot of pectin, a type of water-soluble fiber. Pectin has been shown to reduce blood cholesterol levels.

The mechanism appears to be increased viscosity in the intestinal tract, leading to a reduction in the absorption of cholesterol from bile or food. But apples also contain a lot of sugar, so diabetics should not eat too much.

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