Triglycerides
what exactly are they?

When you have blood work done by your doctor does Triglycerides(lipids) come up with your LDL (bad) cholesterol? This type of fat is calculated in the total cholesterol equation.

What exactly are they? The chemical form of fat that moves through the bloodstream to the tissues.

Where does it come from? From fats in the diet and the body makes from energy sources like carbohydrates.

If you don’t use the calories that you consume right away you will convert them to triglycerides and store them in fat cells. Hormones will regulate their release when you need energy.

Excessive accumulations in the adipose tissue results in obesity.

In the liver and skeletal muscle, fat accumulation is associated with insulin resistance and diabetes. Normal level is lower than 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL); 200 mg/dL is considered too high. They are not looked at as good or bad like the LDL (bad-increase risk of heart disease) and HDL (good-low risk of heart disease) cholesterols. It is either too high or not.

Reasons why they would be too high:

* Genetic makeup.
* Obesity.
* Untreated diabetes.
* Diet is the main reason, especially quick-digesting, high glycemic load carbs.

A lot of people’s insulin levels elevate when they eat this type of food. Insulin is what affects the triglyceride to store fat.

When you have high levels you usually have:
Low HDL cholesterol
High blood pressure
Central abdominal obesity ( belly fat )
Metabolic syndrome
Insulin resistance
Increased risk of heart disease
Type-2 diabetes

What can you do?

1. Get to know the carbohydrate foods.
2. Understand the concept of glycemic load.
3. Choose carbohydrate foods that are low glycemic.
4. Watch how much food you eat that are high in saturated and trans fat like dairy products, animal fats, coconut, cottonseed, palm kernel oil, chocolate and prepared foods.
5. Alcohol, especially beer, can raise your levels.
6. Take Omega-3 fatty acids, 1-2 grams a day by supplement, and salmon, sardines, black cod or herring are also good sources.
7. Lose weight.
8. Exercise!

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