Fallout Comes Fast From a Fatty Meal
Testing shows that arteries reflect damage from saturated fats

(HealthDay News) -- Most everyone rationalizes bad food choices sometimes: It's a special occasion, it's a nice restaurant, they're too tired to cook and on and on.

But those bad meals -- the ones high in saturated fat, low in nutritional value but oh-so-tasty -- immediately put a damper on the heart's health, researchers have found.

Their study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology , involved 14 adults, 18 to 40 years old, who were asked to eat a piece of high-fat carrot cake and to drink a milkshake.

Tests conducted after they consumed the treats revealed that the participants' arteries were not able to expand the way they should to allow for more blood flow. Additionally, HDL cholesterol (the good kind) couldn't do its job properly, because it was laden with saturated fat. Normally, HDL helps keep the arteries clear.

"Saturated-fat meals might predispose to inflammation of, and plaque buildup in, the vessels," the study's lead author, Dr. David Celermajer, a cardiology professor at the Heart Research Institute at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Australia, told HealthDay .

The study volunteers actually ate carrot cake and a milkshake twice for Celermajer's research. But one time the foods were made with saturated fat, and the next, they contained polyunsaturated safflower oil. The meals were spaced about a month apart.

The high-fat meal contained 68 grams of fat, and 90 percent saturated fat -- an amount equivalent to a 150-pound person eating a double cheeseburger, large fries and a large milkshake, according to the researchers. The healthy-fat meal had just 9 percent fat.

Blood samples were taken before and after each meal to measure HDL cholesterol.

The researchers found that important anti-inflammatory properties decreased after the consumption of the high-fat meal but increased after the healthier meal.

Although the effect may be temporary, Celermajer said the effect is likely occurring each time people eat a high-fat meal, and that could be allowing plaque to build up over time.

Jeannie Moloo, a registered dietician and a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, said an easy way for people to cut saturated fat from their diet is to limit the amount of full-fat dairy products, switching to lower-fat varieties whenever possible. She said it's also a good idea to choose leaner meats. Saturated fat should comprise less than 10 percent of a person's total calories, she said.

High-fat meals are one risk factor for heart disease, but others are important, too. The American Academy of Family Physicians says the No. 1 risk factor is smoking, but after two to three years of not smoking, a former smoker's heart disease risk decreases to the risk of someone who never smoked.

Controlling blood pressure is also key, the academy says. One way to maintain blood pressure is to exercise regularly.

On the Web

To learn more about heart disease risk factors, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention online.

SOURCES: HealthDay News ; David Celermajer, Ph.D., M.B.B.S., Scandrett Professor of Cardiology, University of Sydney, Australia; Jeannie Moloo, R.D., Ph.D., Sacramento, Calif., dietitian and spokeswoman, American Dietetic Association; Aug. 15, 2006, Journal of the American College of Cardiology ; American Academy of Family Physicians (www.familydoctor.org)
Author: Serena Gordon
Publication Date: Sept. 30, 2008
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