Ninety-five percent of the fats in your diet are triglycerides, and triglycerides are the storage form of fat found in your adipose tissue. A triglyceride is composed of a short, water-soluble glycerol molecule to which three fatty acid molecules are attached. According to "Staying Healthy With Nutrition: Triglycerides," if you eat more beef or pork, the fatty acids attached to your triglycerides tend to cause more inflammation than those acquired from fish or certain plants, such as flax. This could account for some of the adverse health effects attributed to eating meats and to high triglyceride levels.
Triglycerides Are Important for Fatty Acid Transport
Fatty acids are important sources of energy, and when stored as triglycerides, they afford you the ability to live without food for several hours or even days. Triglycerides can also be transported through your bloodstream, making them a convenient means of delivering fatty acids to various tissues and cells where they are needed. Fatty acids are precursors of cholesterol, vitamin D, steroid hormones and other essential molecules. Thus, triglycerides serve several important purposes in your body.
Triglycerides Are Associated With Metabolic Syndrome
As important as triglycerides are, they can create problems when too many of them circulate through your bloodstream. A high triglyceride level is associated with a condition called metabolic syndrome, which has been linked to an increased risk for cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes. According to the June 2004 "American Family Physician," metabolic syndrome is a collection of physiologic traits that include abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides or low HDL cholesterol, and systemic inflammation.
Triglycerides and Stroke Risk
Given your body's ongoing need for energy and for fatty acids, which can be used for producing other important compounds, triglycerides are necessary for optimal health. However, in addition to metabolic syndrome, high triglyceride levels have now been linked to an increased risk for stroke. In 2011, Danish researchers who had followed nearly 14,000 men and women for up to 33 years demonstrated that your risk for stroke increases in concert with rising triglyceride levels.
Normal Triglyceride Level
Recommendations for optimal triglyceride levels have changed somewhat over time. Several years ago, triglyceride levels below 200 were considered acceptable. However, scientists have discovered that a triglyceride level above 150 is frequently associated with metabolic syndrome. Hence, the National Cholesterol Education Program has determined that a "normal" triglyceride level is below 150. If your triglyceride level is above normal, talk to your physician about how you can bring it down.
References
- "Staying Healthy With Nutrition: Triglycerides"; Elson M. Haas, M.D.; 2006
- "American Family Physician"; Metabolic Syndrome: Time for Action; D. Deen; June 2004
- "Annals of Neurology"; Nonfasting Triglycerides, Cholesterol and Ischemic Stroke in the General Population; A. Varbo, et al.; February 2011
- American Heart Association: Triglycerides
