Triglycerides
What are Triglycerides?
In general note, triglycerides are the type of fats that are found in the blood of the human body. In chemical terms, it is defined as a glyceride attached with three fatty acids through esterification process with glycerol. When three molecules of fatty acids attach with one molecule of glyceride, it form triglyceride. Molecules of fatty acids are attached with a molecule of glyceride by ester bonds. Triglyceride is found mostly in the fats accumulated in the digestive system of the human body. The catalysis of the formation process is done by a pancreatic lipase enzyme, which helps in the hydrolysis and in the release of the fatty acids.
In the human body, triglycerides are found in the form of large sources of energy and are working in the body as one type of normal fat. Basically, triglycerides are a form of extra calories taken by a person in his diet. The foods we eat give energy to our body in the form of calories, and in case when we overeat, the extra calories get stored in the body, in the form of fat or triglycerides. Hence, if we are not burning our calories accordingly, to what is stored in the body, then the triglycerides storage will become very high, causing many health complications.
High amount of triglycerides result in certain metabolic syndromes in the body, consisting of a group of medical complications like high risks of heart problems, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar. Along with risks of heart problem, these syndromes can also cause diabetes and strokes to the person.
High glyceride in the body can be diagnosed by analyzing cholesterol level through blood tests; the level below 150 indicates low triglyceride and above 200 shows high triglyceride in the body.
Symptoms of Triglycerides
Generally, we can not sense any symptoms of high triglycerides.
In the beginning, when high amount of triglycerides start building in the 
body, atherosclerosis happens in the arteries. Atherosclerosis affects the arterial blood vessels, due to high accumulation of fat in the wall of arteries. Subclinical atherosclerosis is the prior stage of atherosclerosis.
The symptoms are asymptotic in nature. Sometimes some visible fatty deposits, named xanthomas, can be seen on the skin of the person. Xanthomas usually occur due to some genetic reason. Some symptoms of high triglycerides, such as severe abdominal pain, low appetite, nausea, vomiting, and fever are seen due to high intake of fats.
Causes of High Triglycerides
The main reason behind the occurrence of high triglycerides is overeating by a person. Generally, it happens when a person burns less energy than the amount of energy he intakes. The extra triglycerides start accumulating in the body in the form of fat around the waist of a person’s body. So, mainly, it is caused by wrong food habits or other bad habits of a person, he is adopting in his lifestyle.
Along with this, there are several other causes of high triglycerides. Like:
Uncontrolled diabetes: When a person having diabetes doesn’t control it properly, he becomes more prone to several heart complications like heart attack. It is due to the fact that uncontrolled diabetes increases the level of sugar in the blood.
Hypothyroidism: A condition when thyroid hormones secreted by thyroid gland are not produced in enough quantity is called hypothyroidism. The condition certainly causes some ill-effects in the body like high triglycerides and heart problems.
Some kidney disease: Because of improper functioning of the kidneys, the food eaten by the person is not digested properly. This further causes problems like high triglycerides, due to high accumulation of undigested fat in the body.
Not doing enough physical work according to the food taken: Energy stored in the form of food needs to be burnt accordingly, for the proper functioning of the systems in the body.
Intake of high amount of alcohol also causes high triglycerides. The alcohol consumption increases the amount of fat in the body and hence, high triglycerides.
Sometimes, several genetic causes also result in high triglycerides.
Other than all these biological and natural reasons based on the lifestyle of a person, certain medicines are there that cause high triglycerides by affecting a person in the form of thyroid problems and weight gain. Like:
Steroids, tamoxifen, control pills, estrogen, diuretics, and beta-blockers.
Diagnosis of High Triglycerides
Testing of high triglycerides in the blood of the human body can be done by taking blood tests, urinalysis, free T4, TSH level test, and by doing lipoprotein electrophoresis, including checking of major types of cholesterol like total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL). All these tests need to be done after fasting of around 8 to 12 hours prior to the tests.
The results obtained through these tests might indicate some problems in liver, kidney, or in the metabolic system. Thus, it is recommended to report to the concerned medical consultant as soon as possible.
There are certain guidelines to assess the level of triglyceride affecting your body. Such as if the test shows that if the level of triglyceride is 160, it is considered as normal range.
From 150-199, it is considered as borderline high and from 200-499, it is considered as high. However, if the level is from 499 to above 500, it is considered as very high and very risky also.
Risks of High Triglycerides
Atherosclerosis
As said earlier, atherosclerosis is a cardiovasculardisease caused by high triglycerides and it affects the arterial blood vessels. Basically, it happens due to high accumulation of low-density lipoprotein (LDP) in the body. As there are no visible symptoms of this disease, fat people should try to take prevention from this disease. To prevent this disease, one should stop smoking, drinking, and eating food very rich in fatty components.
Do excerise for atleast 30 minutes and try to keep your body fit and fine. If taking these step doesn’t help you much, then go for medical consultation and meditation to control the level of high triglycderides.
Treatment of High Triglycerides
First of all, fat people should try to reduce their weight. Do more and more physical work, so that the energy stored in the body get burned accordingly.
One can reduce his weight by taking balanced diet, not very rich in fat. Take less trans- and saturated fat. Whereas, one can take fat available in the form of unsaturated or monounsaturated like olive oil.
Do more and more physical exercises and maintain discipline in your routine.
Control your drinking habit: Consumption of alcohol, beer, or other alcoholic drinks should be cut out to a minimum level if you are facing some problems like weight issue and heart complications. Generally, lot of alcohol increases blood pressure and frequency of heart beats, thereby causing risks of heart problems. Hence, it is required to get rid of this bad habit as soon as possible.
One can control it by replacing it by some other non-alcoholic drink, by doing meditation, or by going to rehabilitation centre.
Control the sugar level of your blood: People, who are detected with high sugar in their blood, need to follow certain regimen in their meals. Don’t take too much sugar in your food and drinks like tea, coffee, and cold drinks. One can replace the consumption of this sugar by taking sweeteners that do not contain artificial sugar.
Control the cholesterol level: Avoid consumption of fatty foods. Closely examine your calories consumption every day and according to it plan your diet rich in nutrients. There are certain medicines recommended by the doctors to control the cholesterol level; such as statins and nicotinic acid or niacin. Statins can lower the level of bad cholesterol in the body. Results of niacin are better in controlling cholesterol in the body.
