Another tasty analogy.

Here's a tasty analogy.

From http://grannychoe.com/recipe3_Soup.php

In Ultra-high-fat (~80%) diets: Fat storage, and a delicious analogy, I analogised the effect of carbohydrate consumption on mean serum glucose level with the effect of fat consumption on mean serum triglyceride level. Here's another one.

Chronic excessive consumption of carbohydrates relative to what are being burned results in excessive fat synthesis in the liver, resulting in excessively-high fasting serum triglyceride level, which is harmful.

Chronic excessive consumption of fats relative to what are being burned results in excessive cholesterol synthesis in the liver, resulting in excessively-high fasting VLDL, LDL & IDL level, which is harmful.

Seems legit.

Lipoproteins & apolipoproteins: E, by 'eck.

In December 2008, I wrote about Cholesterol And Coronary Heart Disease , where I used a limousine metaphor to describe how cholesterol & fat are transported around the body. Here's a diagram of a chylomicron lipoprotein "limousine". Chylomicrons transport dietary fat (triglycerides) & cholesterol from the gut to the liver & other tissues. As there's much more dietary fat than dietary cholesterol, the contents are mostly fat.

A chylomicron. T=Triglyceride C=Cholesterol. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipoprotein

The lipoprotein "limousines" vary a lot in size.

(a) VLDL (b) chylomicrons (c) LDL (d) HDL. 
From http://healthcorrelator.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/triglycerides-vldl-and-industrial.html

Apolipoproteins are the "chauffeurs" which determine to where lipoproteins transport stuff.
Apo A is found mainly on HDL, which transports fat & cholesterol from tissues to the liver.
Apo B is found mainly on LDL, which transports cholesterol from the liver to tissues.
Apo C is found on HDL when fasted, but moves to chylomicrons & VLDL when fat is eaten.
Apo D is found mainly on HDL and is is associated with an enzyme involved in lipoprotein metabolism.
Apo E is found mainly on chylomicrons & IDL and transports lipoproteins, fat-soluble vitamins, and cholesterol into the lymph system and into the blood. In the CNS, Apo E transports cholesterol to neurons. Defects in Apo E result in hyperlipidaemia , cardiovascular & neurological diseases, and is the E referred to in the title.

There's also Apo H, which is a β-glycoprotein involved in the binding of cardiolipin. It has nothing to do with the above lipoproteins.