How are triglycerides different from cholesterol?
Triglycerides and cholesterol are both types of fat in your blood known as lipids. Triglycerides provide much of the energy for cell function, and cholesterol is used to build cells and several hormones. Your health care provider can check your cholesterol and triglyceride levels by taking a sample of blood. The blood is analyzed and provides triglyceride level, total cholesterol level, HDL cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein or “good” cholesterol) and LDL (low-density lipoprotein or “bad” cholesterol). Following a meal, blood triglyceride levels are normally high. For an accurate reading, blood samples for a triglyceride test should be taken after a 12-hour period of not eating or drinking.
