# Dangerous Triglyceride **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [September 21, 2004, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-triglyceride/265253 "2004-09-21T03:12:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-triglyceride/265253/1 "2004-09-21T03:12:13Z")
In this Straight Dope Classic: [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_060.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_060.html) Cecil says that a diet containing fish oil results in lower levels of triglyceride. “Triglycerides are thought to increase the risk of heart disease.” But doesn’t Triglyceride refer to -all- of our dietary fat? That is, a glycerol ‘backbone’ on which there are found three ‘chains’ of fatty acids? That’s what my nutrition textbook is telling me, anyway. The writer described monounsaturated fatty acids in fish oil, but I think what he probably meant was polyunsaturated. The big buzzword with fish oils are the Omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are shown to reduce the amount of LDL (the ‘bad’) cholesterol in the blood arguably better than monounsaturated fat. Was that perhaps what Cecil was referring to? /begging to be put in my place if I am incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Lao](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Dr.Lao](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Lao)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-triglyceride/265253/2 "2004-09-21T11:53:01Z")
True, almost all fat consumed and stored in the body are in the form of triglycerides. But “levels of triglycerides” refers specifically to the amount of triglycerides in the blood. A diet high in carbs and saturated fat can raise blood triglyceride levels. A diet high in unsaturated fat can lower blood triglyceride levels. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-triglyceride/265253/3 "2004-09-21T19:34:06Z")
There are fats (lipids) that are non-triglycerides, such as steroids, the most significant example being cholesterol. ---
**Author:** ![li\_l\_Dickie\_Dirtz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/2bfe46/32.png) [@li\_l\_Dickie\_Dirtz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/li_l_Dickie_Dirtz)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-triglyceride/265253/4 "2004-09-21T20:10:13Z")
> [@Terminus Est](#): > > There are fats (lipids) that are non-triglycerides, such as steroids, the most significant example being cholesterol. Don’t you mean _sterols_, not steroids. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-triglyceride/265253/5 "2004-09-21T20:30:47Z")
Sterols are a type of steroid. You are probably thinking of the anabolic steroids that are of great concern in athletic circles. The latter are often referred to as simply “steroids”, but the term “steroid” is used to refer to a broad class of lipids characterized by four fused carbon rings. This includes cholesterol, hormones such as testosterone and estrogen, and corticosteroids, as well as anabolic steroids. ---
**Author:** ![li\_l\_Dickie\_Dirtz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/2bfe46/32.png) [@li\_l\_Dickie\_Dirtz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/li_l_Dickie_Dirtz)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2004, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-triglyceride/265253/6 "2004-09-22T13:20:19Z")
O. Thanks for the clarification. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2004, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-triglyceride/265253/7 "2004-09-22T14:25:49Z")
> [@Ashtar](#): > > The writer described monounsaturated fatty acids in fish oil, but I think what he probably meant was polyunsaturated. The big buzzword with fish oils are the Omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are shown to reduce the amount of LDL (the ‘bad’) cholesterol in the blood arguably better than monounsaturated fat. And more specifically, eicosapentanic acid (EPA), one of the omega-3 fatty acids. Flaxseed has been touted as a substitute, but it contains alphalineolenic acid (ALA) and the body does not readily convert this to EPA. For more see [http://www.wholehealthmd.com/refshelf/substances\_view/1,1525,992,00.html](http://www.wholehealthmd.com/refshelf/substances_view/1,1525,992,00.html) ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2004, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-triglyceride/265253/8 "2004-09-22T16:37:31Z")
> [@Terminus Est](#): > > There are fats (lipids) that are non-triglycerides, such as steroids, the most significant example being cholesterol. And there are also phopholipids, which consist of a glycerol backbone also, but with one of the fatty acids replaced with a hydrophilic phosphate group. These are major components of cell membranes, with the hydrophilic phosphate heads aligned outward toward the aqueous cytoplasm and the hydrophobic fatty acid tails aligning inward. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-triglyceride/265253/9 "2004-09-23T01:32:07Z")
> [@Ashtar](#): > > The big buzzword with fish oils are the Omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are shown to reduce the amount of LDL (the ‘bad’) cholesterol in the blood arguably better than monounsaturated fat. This may be true, but polyunsaturated fats also have a reputation for reducing your HDL (“good”) cholesterol levels as well as reducing your LDL cholesterol levels. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dangerous-triglyceride/265253/10 "2004-09-23T05:49:27Z")
Gad! I’ve seen margarine with fish oil. I’ve seen low cholesterol sorta-egg product _with fish oil._ Listen, folks. Those things should not taste like fish oil, even remotely. :eek: