Triglycerides, what are they?
Many times when we talk about cholesterol foods we should avoid to keep from gaining weight mentioned to triglycerides. Surely we all have a rough idea of what they really are, now let’s dig a little on this subject and tell you exactly are, how they are classified, and the consequences it brings have a high triglyceride level.
What are they? Are the most common form of fat in the body, usually most of the excess calories we consume is converted into triglycerides and stored in fatty tissues. When we have a high level of triglycerides in the blood is said to have hypertriglyceridemia, it is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease in men and women.
We can classify the blood triglyceride levels as follows:
- Triglyceride levels below 150 mg / dl is considered “desirable.”
- Triglyceride levels between 150 and 199 mg / dl are considered “borderline”
- Triglyceride levels between 200 and 499 mg / dl are considered “high.”
- Levels of triglycerides of 500 mg / dL or higher are considered “very high.”
It is important to maintain triglyceride levels checked, since the higher the cardiovascular risk level we have. Having them at 500 mg / dl or higher can cause pancreatitis, a painful and potentially dangerous inflammation of the pancreas.
What factors cause levels to rise? The increase in triglycerides is related to the type of food that we and our diet, but often also affects our genetic makeup. Another factor that makes our levels increase is our condition, because of diseases such as:
- Obesity.
- Diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
- Hypothyroidism (low thyroid).
- Certain types of kidney disease.
- The drugs, including estrogen replacement, tamoxifen, and a beta blocker.
For these reasons it is very important that we control our levels o