What are Triglycerides?

When a lipoprotein unloads its fat it does not disappear; a smaller remnant particle is left behind. Those remnants can lodge cholesterol in an artery wall, one route by which blood fats contribute to cardiovascular disease. How fast those remnants are cleared varies from person to person, and the longer they stay in circulation the more chance they have of entering a wall.

Triglycerides measure the fat being transported; ApoB counts the particles carrying it and Non-HDL Cholesterol measures the cholesterol those particles hold. HbA1c and Fasting Insulin connect from the glucose side, since the insulin signalling that handles glucose also governs how quickly triglycerides are cleared from the blood.

Recent meals and alcohol change what is circulating within hours. Over weeks and months, the stronger influences are energy balance, physical activity and body weight. Inherited biology sets part of the level a person sits at, as do conditions affecting the thyroid, liver, kidneys or the handling of glucose.

Triglycerides move on two timescales, within hours of a meal and over months with body weight and activity. One reading cannot say which of the two it caught. Repeating the measurement about every four months separates them: the swing from one day's eating does not recur, while a change in body weight or activity persists from one reading to the next. This is Do Health's monitoring schedule, not a general recommendation for everyone.