Detergents in hepatic bile, chiefly phospholipids (PL) and bile acids, emulsify lipids from food to form microscopic micelles within the gut lumen. Hepatic bile also contributes significant amounts of UC to these micelles. The pancreas secretes lipases that digest dietary lipids into chemical forms that can be absorbed by the gut epithelium, e.g., NEFAs, monoacylglycerides, and UC. Absorption of fatty acids and monoacylglycerides approaches 100% efficiency and occurs via passive diffusion and carrier-mediated processes (64). Cholesterol absorption averages about 50% efficiency with considerable interindividual variation. Enterocytes reesterify these lipids intracellularly and then package them into large particles, CMs, that are rich in triglycerides (TG) but also contain substantial amounts of UC and cholesteryl esters. These particles are secreted into thoracic lymph, which drains directly into the systemic bloodstream, bypassing the liver. The mixed lipid composition of CMs leads to a 2-step clearance process. First, when these particles reach the capillary beds of peripheral tissues, a key metabolic branch point occurs between energy storage in adipose tissue (blue arrows) and lipid combustion in striated muscle (green arrows). In a regulated fashion, CMs dock on the microvascular endothelium of these tissues, where LpL hydrolyzes CM triglycerides into NEFAs to deliver lipid calories for local use. In the second step of clearance, residual triglyceride-depleted, cholesteryl ester–rich particles, now called CM remnant lipoproteins, are released back into plasma. Under normal circumstances, the liver rapidly and safely removes them from the circulation (red arrows).