What are the function and importance of triglycerides?
Triglycerides account for about 99 percent of the fat stored in our bodies. These triglyceride-laden fats serve as the most important source of long-term energy for the body, since they are stored in a much denser form than starches or muscle proteins. Formation of fat requires the presence of insulin. Triglyceride in fat is converted to energy between meals and overnight, or any time when we are fasting or insulin levels are low. Fat cells have a tremendous storage capacity, which may contribute to obesity. With extended fasting or absolute insulin deficiency, the liver converts fat breakdown products to ketones. High triglyceride levels in the blood tend to coexist with low levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol, contributing to a condition called diabetic dyslipidemia. The third component of this “dangerous trio” is a tendency for patients with this condition to have the small, dense, undesirable (more atherogenic) type of LDL cholesterol in their blood (even though their LDL cholestero
