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Triglyceride is a type of lipid in the blood.
When you eat, your body digests the fats from your food and transports, by
"carrier" proteins called lipoproteins, the triglyceride through the blood to
storage sites in various body tissues.
Whereas dietary cholesterol comes only from
meat, egg and dairy products, the triglycerides that come from the food you eat
are derived from both animal products and vegetable oils. All the different
types of fatty acids found in oils and fatty foods are the main components of
triglycerides. Other triglycerides are made in the liver, which manufactures
them from excess carbohydrates, protein and alcohol as a way to store energy.
Triglycerides, in sum make up more than 95% of the fatty tissue in humans.
How does increased triglycerides
levels affect my risk?
High levels of triglycerides are generally
associated with a higher risk of heart disease. However, if your cholesterol is
normal, elevated triglyceride levels may not be that important. The tricky part
here is that high triglyceride levels do not appear to uniformly increase the
risk of heart disease. Some studies, however, have linked high triglyceride
levels to heart disease and stroke - especially in women - and they are
considered to be a particularly strong indicator if your HDL cholesterol is very
low. Elevated triglyceride levels have a strong association with diabetes and
especially for the heart disease that is associated with diabetes. Alcohol
intake and pancreatic diseases also can raise triglyceride levels.
When people switch from meat-based diets to
plant-based diets, their cholesterol levels tend to fall dramatically, but in
some cases their triglyceride levels will rise. This is because some of the
carbohydrates in the diet are being converted to triglycerides for transport,
which does not increase the risk of heart disease.
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