The Best Bread for Managing High Triglycerides
Cardiovascular DiseasesHigh Cholesterol
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Can Cutting Out Bread Lower Your Triglycerides?

Can Cutting Out Bread Lower Your Triglycerides?
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Updated on August 6, 2025
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Most Americans eat more bread than they think — toast for breakfast, a sandwich or soup in a bread bowl for lunch, and a few pieces of garlic bread with your dinner. Breads also include pizza dough, burger buns, bagels, English muffins, French baguette, rolls, and croissants. Most breads are relatively low in fat and high in carbohydrates, which fit the United States Department of Agriculture dietary guidelines.

 However, if you have high triglycerides, eating a lot of bread could actually worsen your situation and impair your cardiovascular risk profile.

Carbohydrates and Triglycerides

Triglycerides are a type of fat in your blood that differs from blood cholesterol levels. Triglycerides below 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) are best to lower your risk of developing heart disease. Many factors can elevate your triglycerides, including abdominal obesity, lack of physical activity, smoking, stress, and alcohol.

In your diet, carbs, rather than fat or dietary cholesterol, are the nutrient that is the most associated with high triglycerides. If your diet contains excessive amounts of starches or sugars, your body will start converting these extra carbohydrates to fat, or triglycerides, and your triglyceride levels might rise above the desirable range.

Bread and Carbohydrates

Bread is one of the largest sources of carbs in the American diet. Whether you choose refined grains, whole wheat, or whole grains, all grain-based products contain significant amounts of carbs. For example, a large slice of bread usually provides about 15 grams (g) of carbs, a medium French fry contains approximately 45 g of carbs, a bagel has 60 g of carbs, a small cupcake contains about 30 g of carbs, and a 12-inch sub contains more than 90 g of carbs. If you eat several bread products each day, or eat a large serving size, your triglycerides could be high.

 Ask your doctor to run a blood test if you’re concerned about your triglyceride levels.

Low-Carb Diets and Triglycerides

If carbs are a big part of your diet, reducing your bread intake or eliminating bread completely, at least for a certain period of time to assess how this change could influence your health, could help you bring your triglycerides within the target range. A review study showed that several research projects have found that people who limited their carb intake by reducing bread and other carb-rich foods were able to significantly lower their triglycerides.

Limiting Your Bread Intake

If you feel like your diet is rich in bread and other high-carb foods, try limiting your intake of bread and sugar-containing foods for a period of one month. Before getting started, consult your doctor to first discuss your dietary changes and get some blood work done so you have something to compare your triglyceride levels to once you have reduced your bread intake.

Replace your toast at breakfast with spinach and cheese or cottage cheese with fruit. Instead of your sandwich at lunch, have a big salad or use lettuce leaves to make a bread-less wrap. For dinner, make a pizza on grilled eggplant slices or portobello caps or simply serve chicken, fish, or meat with a big pile of nonstarchy vegetables, such as asparagus, broccoli, or bell peppers cooked in olive oil. Try including at least two weekly servings of omega-3 fatty-acid-rich fish such as herring, salmon, albacore tuna, sardines, or trout — omega-3 fats can also help reduce your triglycerides.

The Takeaway

  • If you have high triglycerides, reducing the intake of bread and other high-carbohydrate foods may help bring your levels within a healthier range.
  • Replacing bread with low-carb alternatives like grilled vegetables or whole foods such as omelets and salads can potentially improve your cardiovascular risk profile.
  • Including omega-3-rich fish in your diet, such as salmon or trout, might further support the reduction of triglyceride levels.
  • Make sure to consult with your healthcare provider before making significant dietary changes, and check your blood levels to track improvements.
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
  1. Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025. United States Department of Agriculture. December 2020.
  2. The Truth About Triglycerides. University of Rochester Medical Center.
  3. Bread, White, Commercially Prepared (Includes Soft Bread Crumbs. United States Department of Agriculture. April 1, 2019.
  4. Carb Choices. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. May 15, 2024.
  5. Landry MJ. Benefits of Low Carbohydrate Diets: A Settled Question or Still Controversial? Current Obesity Report. October 31, 2022.
  6. Omega-3 Fatty Acids. Cleveland Clinic. November 17, 2022.
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Lynn Grieger, RDN, CDCES

Medical Reviewer

Lynn Grieger is a registered dietitian-nutritionist, certified diabetes care and education specialist, certified personal trainer, and certified health and wellness coach. She completed requirements to become a registered dietitian at Valparaiso University in 1987 and completed a dietetic internship at Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey, Illinois, in 1988. 

Lynn brings her expertise in nutrition, exercise, and behavior change to her work in helping people reach their individual health and fitness goals. In addition to writing for Everyday Health, she has also written for websites and publications like Food and Health Communications, Today's Dietitian, iVillage.com, and Rodale Press. She has a passion for healthy, nutrient-dense, great-tasting food and for being outdoors as much as possible — she can often be found running or hiking, and has completed a marathon in every state.

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Aglaee Jacob

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Aglaee Jacob is a registered dietitian. She has experience working with people who have diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and obesity issues. Jacob obtained a bachelor of science and a master of science, both in nutrition, from Laval University in Quebec City, Canada.

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