Test Your Knowledge: Fatty Foods and Triglycerides (Video)

[Opening]

Get ready to challenge your assumptions and maybe learn something surprising about fats in your body.

[Question]

Today’s quiz question has to do with triglycerides, so before we pose it, we’ll take a minute to review what a triglyceride is.

Basically, a triglyceride is a kind of molecule, one which has three short oe long chains of atoms attached to backbone group of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.  The chains are made entirely of carbon and hydrogen.

You may remember from school chemistry classes that carbon and hydrogen atoms can both join with oxygen atoms to produce the substances carbon dioxide and water.  You seen that happening many times, it’s a process we call fire.

A triglyceride, then, is a molecule that can be used as fuel, and that’s why it’s in your blood: to be available as a fuel where energy is needed, along with the other main kind of body fuel that’s in your blood, called glucose.

Just like glucose, there are healthy levels of triglycerides in your blood, and unhealthy levels. Doctors keep track of that, along with levels of other molecules in your blood like various kinds of cholesterol, with a blood test call a “lipid panel”.

If you are told that your triglycerides level is too high, there are two things you can about that on your own—change what or how you’re eating, and get more exercise.  Our quiz question for today has to do with what you eat, so here it is:

Which of the typical serving sizes of the pictured foods is most likely to raise the triglycerides level in your bloodstream?

1. Red wine
2. Asparagus
3. Mayonnaise
4. Dinner rolls
5. Butter
6. Steak

[Reveal and Explanation]

The correct answer is: D) Dinner rolls.

You may be surprised to hear that the answer wasn’t one of the fattier foods. But stick around as we explain why foods that are not traditionally seen as “fatty,” can have a big impact on your triglyceride levels.

[Understanding Triglycerides]

Commonly, people tend to assume that high triglyceride levels are caused by the consumption of fatty foods like butter. However, the real culprit is often carbohydrates, and especially refined ones.

[The Role of the Liver]

The reason for this lies in your liver. The liver plays a crucial role, because one of its jobs is to convert excess calories into triglycerides. This takes place regardless of whether those calories come from fats, carbohydrates, or proteins.

[Dinner Rolls: A Closer Look]

Now, dinner rolls are primarily made of refined carbohydrates. And while they might seem less filling than a slab of butter or a steak, they’re loaded with calories. What’s more important, though, is that their refined carbs are easily broken down into glucose, which can raise blood glucose levels rapidly.

But high glucose levels are dangerous, so when the levels is rising too fast the liver does what it’s supposed to do—turn that extra glucose into triglycerides.

[Carbohydrates and Triglycerides]

So compared to the other foods on the lest, dinner rolls are on the fastest track to becoming triglycerides in your bloodstream.

[Conclusion]

The bottom line is that understanding the relationship between the foods we eat and our body’s response to those foods is key to managing our health.  If you found this information helpful, please give us a thumbs up, share your thoughts in the comments, and don’t forget to subscribe for more content that can help you make informed health decisions.