Q: I have very high triglycerides, the value being nearly 400. I am not very obese. Is there any medication or walking is the only answer?

A:Diet and exercise (brisk walk to cover at least 4.5 km in no more than 45 minutes) will help you a lot. My feeling is that along with this you may need to take Bezafibrate (brand name: Bezalip) 200 mg 3 times daily after food so that it is brought down even more rapidly. The dose of medication may be gradually brought down and then stopped once your triglyceride levels fall to near normal. It is necessary to bring down the triglycerides to reduce the risk of premature angina. Use of statins (Atorvastatin, Fluvastatin, Pravastatin, Simvastatin etc) is not only unneccessary in isolated high triglyceride levels but can prove to be dangerous, particularly when taken with fibrates.