Natural Sugar & Triglycerides

Triglycerides are the primary form of fat, or lipid, found in your blood, and they serve as the principal form of fat storage in your body. A high serum triglyceride level is believed to contribute to atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, and hypertriglyceridemia is one of the criteria used to define metabolic syndrome, a condition that increases your risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Dietary fats contribute to your serum triglyceride level, but so do sugars and other carbohydrates, whether they are "natural" or not.

Carbohydrate Digestion

Carbohydrates -- sugars and starches -- are the major source of dietary energy for most Americans. Regardless of their source, carbohydrates are broken down into simple sugars, or monosaccharides, in your intestine before they are absorbed into your bloodstream. Galactose, glucose and fructose are the primary monosaccharides derived from carbohydrate digestion. Following absorption, monosaccharides are transported to your liver, where their ultimate fate is determined.

Energy Production

Your body readily converts fructose and galactose to glucose, which is your cells' preferred source of fuel. Once it gains access to your cells, glucose is cleaved to form two molecules of pyruvate, which are converted to acetyl-CoA and oxidized in your mitochondria to produce energy. This energy is generated in the form of adenosine triphosphate. Although all of your cells can convert glucose to energy, your liver is the major site of glucose metabolism. If your carbohydrate consumption exceeds your immediate energy needs, glucose is shunted into other metabolic pathways, such as triglyceride synthesis.

Triglyceride Synthesis

Dietary fat is not the only source of triglycerides in your bloodstream. Glucose that is not oxidized for energy can be used to manufacture fatty acids, which are connected to glycerol molecules to form triglycerides. Then, just like triglycerides from dietary fat, glucose-derived triglycerides circulate through your bloodstream and accumulate in your liver and fat tissue. So, a high-carbohydrate diet, regardless of its composition, can contribute to an elevated triglyceride level if you do not consistently burn the calories you consume.

Considerations

Some debate the relative merits of so-called natural sugars -- honey, agave nectar, raw sugar and others -- as opposed to processed sugars, such as high-fructose corn syrup and white sugar. Although there are undoubtedly differences between natural and processed sugars, all carbohydrates are equal as far as your triglyceride level is concerned. If your sugar consumption outstrips your energy needs, the excess can be converted to triglycerides, and hypertriglyceridemia can adversely affect your health.