TAG, you're it Triglycerides!

My triglycerides are good!  But what does this mean, and what do they do?  

Take a bottle of canola oil in one hand and a stick of butter in another hand and hold them up?  Go ahead, I'll wait.  These are triglycerides.  

"Eeewwww.... I'm never going to eat this stuff, it'll get in my blood," you say.  Now wait just one minute, Cochise.

Even Wikipedia will tell you that TAG's are going to get jacked up from eating lots of carbs, not from eating lots of delicious animal fat.  Having lived my life for the last six months, I can tell you with certainty that mine would be lots higher if animal fats, butter, or coconut oil (add some bell-peppers and onions and that's supper) were the enemy.

Cholesterol is kind of a common currency of your cells.  It's a phenomenal substance responsible for lots of important hormones, cell repair and a big part of what you're brain is made of.  You're cells excrete these little guys all the time as a sort of energy transport system.  

Triglycerides are broken down for fatty acids (used by your heart and other muscles) and glycerol (which your brain can use).  If you eat less than about 60% of your daily caloric needs comes from carbs, you'll use this handy transport mechanism for energy.  Otherwise, you start seeing some problems.  

If you are in a mild state of ketosis from time to time (e.g. you keep under 100 grams of carbs most days), you'll burn through these TAGs and use your own fat cells for energy to boot.  Sorry everyone, Atkins was mostly right.  Ketosis should be an important part in your week, but it's not necessarily important to stay there all the time. Just make sure to use your fat cells every week and to get some starch one or two days a week to keep the whole system functioning.  

This is an important topic so I'm up for comments, corrections, and questions.