Triglyceride Spike? Almond milk? Wine?

Triglycerides are in the blood, from what I gather, because of excess calories flowing around. If you eat more calories than you burn you get high triglycerides. I'm sure it's more complex than that though. If you are gaining weight (even if it's slowly) you are eating more than you burn.

My triglycerides dropped on my last test. Several factors had changed since the test before. First I had my blood tested in the late spring when I tend to be more active (as opposed to winter). Secondly, I reduced the amount of alcohol I drank for a full week prior to the test (by about half). Lastly, I'd been keeping my weight steady (actually dropped a few pounds instead of gaining a few).

Having said all that, having a total cholesterol as low as yours is amazing!

Here's a few ideas:

• Your body produces triglycerides from leftover carbohydrates, so you may have eaten more carbs than you did a few years ago. If so, it may show up in your blood glucose level. What does it say?
  
  
• Other food components that get metabolized into triglycerides are some particular carbohydrates and quasi-carbohydrates whose chemistry prevents them from being metabolized through the blood-sugar cycle at all. Major suspects are alcohol and fructose (which you find in nondiet sodas, honey, and sweets "for diabetics"). Are you ingesting more of these today than you did three years ago?
  
  
• On the other hand, your problem may be a shortfall in triglyceride disposal, not an excess of triglyceride production. Are you more sedentary today than you were three years ago?

Finally, although your triglycerides are a bit high (and your HDL cholesterol a tiny bit low), the margins are small. If your doctor says they're too small to be worth worrying about, that's perfectly credible.