Many people are surprised to learn that their triglycerides are high even though they do not eat much fat. They eat lightly, avoid fried foods and oils, yet the numbers remain high, and doctors prescribe lipid-lowering medications. In the Tayyibat System, Dr. Diaa Al-Awadi, may Allah have mercy on him, presents a different explanation: high triglycerides are not always due to the fat you eat; they may result from excess energy and sugar that the liver converts into fat. The problem is not eating fat, but how the body handles excess sugar and energy. If you are new here, you may benefit from learning about What is the Tayyibat System? or reviewing the article on Allowed and Forbidden Foods in the Tayyibat System, as well as reading the Biography of Dr. Diaa Al-Awadi, and finally you can Download the Tayyibat System PDF.
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Do Triglycerides Come Only from the Fat We Eat?
This is the biggest misunderstanding. Triglycerides are the form in which the body stores energy in fat cells. They can come from two main sources. The first source: fats you eat directly (oils, butter, fatty meats), absorbed by the intestines and entering the bloodstream. The second and more important source in cases of unexplained elevation: the liver manufactures triglycerides itself from excess sugar and energy. When you eat more carbohydrates than the body needs immediately, or when there is excess energy from any source, the liver converts this excess into triglycerides for storage. Therefore, you may find a vegetarian who eats no animal fats but suffers from high triglycerides due to excess sugars and starches.
How Does the Body Handle Excess Energy?
The body has an intelligent energy management system. Energy priority is to power vital functions immediately: heartbeat, breathing, brain activity, muscle movement. Any energy beyond immediate needs is not wasted but stored for later use. The main energy stores are three: glycogen in the liver and muscles (short-term storage), and triglycerides in fat cells (long-term storage). When there is excess sugar in the blood (after a carbohydrate-rich meal), the pancreas secretes insulin. Insulin orders cells to take sugar for immediate use, and orders the liver to convert excess into glycogen first. If glycogen stores are full, the liver begins converting excess sugar into triglycerides, sent to fat cells.
What Is Gluconeogenesis in Simple Terms?
Gluconeogenesis has a complex name, but its idea is simple. Imagine the body has the ability to manufacture glucose (sugar) from non-sugar materials, such as: amino acids (from protein), glycerol (from fat), and lactic acid (from muscles). This process occurs primarily in the liver. Why would the body make sugar if it hasn’t eaten sugar? Because some cells cannot function without glucose, especially brain cells and red blood cells. During fasting or starvation, the liver makes glucose to protect the brain. But when this process is abnormally active due to stress hormones, inflammation, or insulin resistance, the liver produces more sugar than needed, and this excess sugar is converted into triglycerides.
How Is This Process Linked to High Triglycerides?
The link is “excess energy” and “excess sugar.” There are three main mechanisms. First: eating more carbohydrates than the body needs (bread, rice, pasta, sugars) → high blood sugar → excess converted to triglycerides. Second: overactive gluconeogenesis due to chronic stress or inflammation → liver produces more sugar than needed → excess sugar converted to triglycerides. Third: insulin resistance → cells do not take sugar efficiently → sugar remains in blood → liver is forced to convert excess into triglycerides. In the second and third cases, a person may suffer from high triglycerides even though they eat little or follow a low-carbohydrate diet.
The Liver’s Role in Converting and Storing Energy
The liver is the body’s “energy manager.” The liver receives all nutrients from the digestive system before they reach the rest of the body (via the portal vein). The liver sorts what is suitable for immediate use, what is suitable for storage, and what should be eliminated. When excess sugar reaches the liver, it converts it into glycogen. When glycogen stores are full, it converts excess into triglycerides. These triglycerides are either stored in the liver itself (causing fatty liver) or sent to fat cells in the abdomen, buttocks, and thighs. This is why excess sugars and starches may increase belly fat and fatty liver more than natural fats do.
Where Do the Krebs Cycle and Acetyl CoA Fit In?
The Krebs cycle is the “power plant” inside mitochondria. To understand the relationship with sugar and fat, imagine that glucose is broken down into a small molecule called acetyl CoA. This molecule is the fuel that enters the Krebs cycle to produce energy. If there is excess acetyl CoA beyond what the Krebs cycle needs for energy, mitochondria export the excess to the cell’s cytoplasm, where it is converted into triglycerides. In other words, excess acetyl CoA production beyond energy needs inevitably leads to increased fat storage. This explains why even “healthy” sugar (like dates and honey), if excessive, is converted into fat.
Why Might Triglycerides Rise Even with Little Food?
This paradox requires deeper understanding. There are cases where blood sugar and triglycerides rise even though the person eats little, or even during fasting. Possible causes include: chronic stress (high cortisol increases gluconeogenesis), chronic inflammation (increases insulin resistance), poor sleep (disrupts energy-regulating hormones), thyroid dysfunction, or even some medications. In these cases, the liver produces sugar from internal sources (from amino acids or lactate), and this internally produced sugar is converted into triglycerides. The solution here is not just reducing sugar intake, but treating the cause of inflammation, stress, or insulin resistance.
How Does This Understanding Change Our View of Sugar and Fat?
The biggest change is moving from thinking “sugar is the enemy” or “fat is the enemy” to thinking “excess energy is the problem.” Sugar is not poison, and fat is not poison. The body is designed to use both together. The problem occurs when more energy enters than is consumed, or when the mechanisms regulating energy storage malfunction due to inflammation, stress, or insulin resistance. A balanced diet is not one that fights sugar or fights fat, but one that provides energy in appropriate amounts and in a form the body can easily handle. Understanding gluconeogenesis, the Krebs cycle, and acetyl CoA helps to see the complete picture: the body is an integrated energy system, not two separate storage units for sugar and fat.
Conclusion
High triglycerides are not always due to eating fat. The liver converts excess sugar and energy into triglycerides for storage. Gluconeogenesis is the liver’s ability to produce sugar from non-sugar sources (protein, lactate, glycerol). When this manufactured sugar is in excess, it is converted into fat. The Krebs cycle and acetyl CoA are the central energy power plant. Excess acetyl CoA beyond energy needs is converted into triglycerides. High triglycerides may occur even with little food if there is chronic stress, inflammation, or insulin resistance. The solution is not a harsh diet fighting sugar or fat, but understanding energy balance, reducing inflammation, and improving insulin sensitivity.
Read Also
- What is the Tayyibat System?
- List of Forbidden and Allowed Foods in the Tayyibat System
- Biography of Dr. Diaa Al-Awadi
- Download the Tayyibat System PDF
This article is a simplified and organized summary of the video content, aiming to arrange the ideas and concepts mentioned in it and connect them to their context within the Tayyibat System. You can watch the video on YouTube here.
When more sugar enters than the body needs immediately, the liver converts the excess into glycogen for temporary storage. If glycogen stores are full, the liver begins converting excess sugar into triglycerides stored in fat cells.
It is the process by which the liver produces glucose (sugar) from non-sugar materials, such as amino acids (from protein) or glycerol (from fat). This process occurs primarily during fasting or starvation to protect the brain.
The cause may be overactive gluconeogenesis due to chronic stress (high cortisol), chronic inflammation, or insulin resistance. The liver produces sugar from internal sources, and this sugar is converted into fat.
Acetyl CoA is the fuel that enters the Krebs cycle to produce energy. If there is excess acetyl CoA beyond the Krebs cycle’s needs, the excess is converted into triglycerides for storage.
Not alone. Excess energy from any source (sugar, carbohydrates, excess protein, or even fats) can be converted into triglycerides if it exceeds the body’s needs. However, sugar is the fastest source of this excess.
By first reducing excess energy (appropriate portion sizes), then improving insulin sensitivity (by reducing inflammation-causing foods), then treating causes of chronic stress and inflammation, and improving liver health through appropriate food.
Triglycerides are the storage form of energy. Cholesterol is a substance from which hormones and cell membranes are made. Both may rise with excess sugar and energy, but their regulatory mechanisms differ.
A ketogenic diet may lower triglycerides in some people, but it is not suitable for everyone. In the Tayyibat System, it is better to reduce refined sugars and simple carbohydrates while maintaining easily digestible carbohydrates (rice, potatoes) in appropriate amounts, and avoiding extreme diets.
