The human body is like a machine: it consumes the fuel that we give to it, develops, produces energy and discards the unnecessary. Due to the fast everyday life, we grab a quick bite of food on the go, just to satisfy the hunger. We rarely think about the quality of food that we consume. Only when we experience some health problem, we are forced to rethink the way of life that we lead. If our blood tests show elevated cholesterol or triglycerides in the blood, we become interested in what these values mean and how to fix them.

Fat tissue is a functional part of the organism. The deposition of fat in the body is influenced by hormones that are released in accordance with the way of life.

Subcutaneous (abdominal) fat accumulates around the waist and under the skin, and it is caused by large amounts of food. The body treats it as physiological reserve of energy, and the person who has the external fat does not have to have elevated levels of blood fat.

Inner (visceral) fat is more dangerous. It represents deposits within the body that is localized around vital organs and is the main cause of bad blood count. It is the consequence of the poor quality of food and lack of physical activity. A person does not have to be visibly obese to have high visceral fat.

However, organism needs fat. Cholesterol is required for the production of hormones and enters the structure of all cells, and triglycerides are essential for the functioning of the immune system and are a good source of energy. Diet that lacks fat often leads to chronic fatigue, mood changes and can progress to a serious disease.

People often wrongly conclude that we have more body fat when we consume foods rich in animal fat, and that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can not cause obesity. The body does not work that way. Each type of food we eat in excess turns into a reserve in the form of fat. Whether our meals include fruits, vegetables, pork, eggs or pasta, if we take more than the body  needs, it will create an excess.

High cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood represent a risk for developing liver and gall bladder problems, as well as for the development of atherosclerosis, which can cause heart attack or stroke. It is important to regularly control the levels of cholesterol, HDL (aka. The bad cholesterol) and triglycerides in the blood in order to timely identify the possible risks. If the concentration levels exceed the limit values, the changes in diet and taking the therapy prescribed by the doctor is recommended.

The optimum diet contains a balanced ratio of animal and vegetable fats. One should eat low fat meat (chicken, turkey) as a source of cholesterol, cold-pressed vegetable oils and fish consumption, which helps fat metabolism because it contains omega 3 fatty acid, that clean the blood of excess triglycerides.

In risk groups (obesity, cardiovascular disease) doctor recommends medication for lowering the blood lipids. Therapy should be taken regularly, and blood controls during at least three months are required.