Triglyceride values

Blood triglyceride values ​​are measured in an attempt to quantify the patient's cardiovascular risk, often in conjunction with other "thermometers" of that risk, such as LDL and HDL cholesterol values, and homocysteine, fibrinogen and various inflammatory markers .

In fact, too high values ​​of triglycerides predispose to atherosclerosis, a disease characterized by the deposition of fat (mainly cholesterol), minerals (mainly calcium), fibrous connective tissue and cells or cellular debris (mainly macrophages) inside the large arteries caliber. In the vessels affected by the atherosclerotic processes, important obstacles to the free flow of blood are thus formed, with possible suffering of the tissues downstream due to the reduced blood flow. These plaques can also rupture and the fragments detached from them migrate into the blood until they completely obstruct a smaller vessel; finally, the wall of the artery itself - made more rigid and less elastic by the disease - can be injured until it breaks. It is not surprising, therefore, that cardiovascular diseases represent the leading cause of death in industrialized countries.

High values ​​of triglycerides in the blood also predispose to pancreatitis, an inflammation of the pancreas characterized by the appearance of a violent and sudden pain in the upper part of the abdomen, with a tendency to irradiation towards the back, often followed by nausea and food vomiting and biliary (green-dark color). The relationship between pancreatitis and hypertriglyceridemia is however valid only for particularly high triglyceride values, in the order of 1500 or more mg / dl.

Triglyceride values: reference levels

Triglyceride values
mg / dL	mmol / L	Interpretation
<150	<1.7	Desirable values, low risk
150-199	1.7-2.2	Triglycerides close to the limit values ​​that delineate the excess
200-499	2.3-5.6	High triglycerides
> 500	> 5.6	Very high triglycerides

NOTES: the triglyceride values ​​shown above refer to the measurement carried out in conditions of absolute fasting from 8 to 12 hours (only water is allowed). Triglyceridemia - or the concentration of triglycerides in the blood - tends to remain temporarily high after meals. For this reason, when following a diet that is particularly rich in calories and fat (hyper-caloric and hyperlipidic) in the days preceding the exam, the triglyceride values ​​may appear rather high.

When triglyceride values ​​are high it is very important:

• correct overweight and obesity.
• Reduce, better avoid alcohol.
• Reduce the consumption of simple sugars (sweets, dried fruit and sugary fruits, such as figs, bananas, grapes, mandarins and persimmons).
• Limit calorie intake by avoiding binge eating.
• Eat fish at least 2-3 times a week; in as many occasions replace meat with legumes, and traditional seed oils with omega-three sources, such as hemp oil, flaxseed, canola or walnuts.
• Limit the consumption of foods rich in saturated fats (contained above all in dairy products and fatty meat), replacing them with those rich in monounsaturated fatty acids and in particular oleic acid (olive oil, dried fruit and vegetable oils in general).
• Reduce, better avoided, hydrogenated fats (contained in margarine and in many pastas, snacks and packaged bakery products).
• Keep high consumption of foods rich in antioxidants.

If, despite the adoption of these behavioral norms, blood tests continue to report too high triglyceride values, the doctor can intervene by prescribing specific medicines, such as fibrates, or a supplement of essential fatty acids or carnitine.

When the triglyceride values ​​are low:

there is generally nothing to worry about. In fact, the pathological conditions characterized by hypotriglyceridemia (malnutrition, hyperthyroidism, liver disease, malabsorption) produce characteristic symptoms, so a person in perfect health should not worry too much about lower than normal triglyceride values.