Question:
What is the relationship between carbohydrates and triglycerides?
Answer:
Triglycerides are chemicals composed primarily of simple fats. The structure of triglycerides makes it easy for the fats to be stored in food, stored in the body and transported in the blood stream.
Triglycerides are one component of a blood test measurement of total cholesterol. The other components are LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol. When a lipid panel on a blood sample is performed, all four measurements are made:
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Total cholesterol
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LDL cholesterol
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HDL cholesterol
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Triglycerides
Triglyceride blood levels can vary considerably based on a person's diet and amount of alcohol intake. If blood is drawn shortly after a large meal, many people will have an elevated triglyceride level. This is why you need to fast for eight to 12 hours prior to the blood test.
The relationship between carbohydrate intake and fasting triglyceride levels is not straightforward. In general, most overweight people can lower triglyceride levels by decreasing total caloric intake independent of the type of foods they eat. Losing weight and exercising more are the primary lifestyle changes to lower triglycerides.
Some people have fasting blood triglyceride levels that are quite sensitive to the amount of carbohydrates they eat, even when total calories are restricted. These people need to ingest a higher percentage of their daily non-protein calories as monounsaturated fats (olive oil) and polyunsaturated fats (canola, safflower and sunflower seed oils). Also, some people's triglyceride levels spike with even moderate alcohol intake.
