Triglycerides are blood fats that provide a source of energy to keep you moving in between meals. Too many of these lipids, however, can pose serious risks for your heart health. Drinking alcohol can cause triglycerides to rise significantly, even when consumption is low, according to the American Heart Association. Your physician can provide you with specific information about your triglyceride levels and risk of heart disease.
Definition
According to the American Heart Association, triglycerides are a chemical form of fats found in food and in the body. Triglycerides circulate through the body in blood plasma. Triglycerides, along with cholesterol, are also called plasma lipids. Ideally, fasting triglyceride levels should measure less than 150 mg/dL.
Function
When you eat more food than your body can use right away, your digestive system changes the excess energy into triglycerides, a form it can store for convenient use later on. In between meals, hormones signal your body to release the triglycerides to keep you going.
Risks
Triglycerides serve an important purpose, but according to the AHA, having too many of them in the blood can cause problems. This condition can be a risk factor for coronary artery disease. It can also be a side effect of an underlying problem such as Type 2 diabetes.
Alcohol/Benefits
Research suggests that alcohol may provide some benefits for your heart. A French study published in "Lancet" in 1992 said that drinking red wine may be the reason why France has a lower incidence of heart disease than other countries with similar diets.
Another study in 1999 from the Harvard School of Public Health supported the idea of positive benefits of alcohol. The study showed that "good" cholesterol concentrations in the blood increased after alcohol consumption, but so did the level of triglycerides. The study indicated that the increase in triglycerides that came with moderate alcohol use may work against the other positive effects of moderate drinking.
Considerations
The factors that affect triglyceride levels are hard to pin down, so it is difficult to draw a precise picture about triglycerides and alcohol. Heavy smoking, for example, impacts triglycerides. People who don't exercise tend to have higher triglyceride levels, as do people with excess body weight and an unhealthy diet.
Recommendation
If you don't drink now, the AHA does not recommend starting. If you already drink alcohol, the organization advises keeping the quantity in check: two or fewer drinks per day for men and not more than one drink per day for women.
References
- American Heart Association: Alcohol, Wine and Cardiovascular Disease
- American Heart Association: Triglycerides
- PubMed Central: "British Medical Journal"; Moderate Alcohol Intake and Lower Risk of Coronary Heart Disease: Meta-Analysis of Effects on Lipids and Haemostatic Factors; 1999
- PubMed Central: "Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health"; Blood Lipids: The Relationship with Alcohol Intake, Smoking, and Body Weight; 1992
- PubMed Central: "Vascular Health Risk ; Management"; Effect of Alcohol on Risk of Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke: Causality, Bias, or a Bit of Both?; 2006
