Doctors reveal a patient’s cholesterol levels along with another number: triglyceride level. Unfortunately, when the two numbers are lumped together, patients often don’t pay attention to triglycerides, as though they're merely an afterthought. They're not.

When you eat food that is too high in fat or sugar, the portion that is not metabolized as energy goes into your blood as triglycerides. In addition, certain medications may raise triglyceride levels.

These include:

• Beta blockers
• Estrogens
• Retinoids (as in skin care creams)
• Psychotropic drugs (like antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications)
• Birth control pills

However, the biggest culprits are the usual suspects — obesity, inactivity, smoking, and drinking too much alcohol. Limit your daily drinking to 1.5 ounces of hard alcohol, or one six-ounce low-alcohol glass of wine. Better still, skip the alcohol altogether and enjoy a small glass of organic grape juice instead.

You don’t need a separate test to find out what your triglyceride level is, as it is normally included in the blood lipid profile that measures LDL, HDL, and total cholesterol levels. A healthy triglyceride level is 150 mg/dL or less.

Even if your cholesterol levels are low, high triglycerides can cause problems, so you have to pay attention to lowering your reading.