Cholesterol and triglycerides have garnered most of the health news headlines in the past few years. Westerners have been told they have to follow a low-cholesterol, low-fat diet to reduce their risks for heart disease.

As a person with diabetes, you are among that very same group of persons who should be watching fat and cholesterol. As with the risk for high blood pressure, you have some strikes against you in the blood fat area, too. You probably have been eating a high-fat diet most of your life, are overweight, and have diabetes. The first line of treatment for above-normal blood fat levels is diet and exercise. Sound familiar? Your diabetes meal plan is designed to lower your overall fat intake. And your exercise programme helps burn kilojoules and fat. In some people, both can work to bring blood fat levels into the normal range.

Other recommendations for treatment of your diabetes apply in the blood fat area too: learn to cope with stress. Stop smoking. Be moderate in your alcohol intake or abstain completely.

When diet and exercise alone are not effective for lowering blood fat levels, your doctor can prescribe drug treatment. There are drugs to reduce both cholesterol and triglycerides, and sometimes these drugs are used in combination to increase effectiveness and reduce the potential for damage, especially to the kidneys.

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