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Stay Away From High-Fat Meal To Prevent Heart Disease!
 

Being the leading killer in many countries, heart disease can be caused by a number of factors including diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol, alcohol drinking, sedentary lifestyle, stress, smoking and unhealthy diets.

When talking about unhealthy diets, high-fat meals have been accused as the culprit for obesity epidemic. In the documentary movie “Supersize Me”, the filmmaker ate all his meals at a fast food restaurant for a month, and his weight and cholesterol level went up.

To find out whether eating just one high-fat meal could contribute to heart disease, researchers from University of Miami conducted a study in 2005. In their findings published in the American Heart Association's journal ‘Circulation’, they reported that evidence was found just a couple of hours after a high-fat meal that there was damage in the surface of the blood vessels.

All the study participants were young people in their 20s, without any medical problems. On one day, the participants ate a low-fat breakfast of Frosted Flakes, skim milk and orange juice. The next day, they were served a very high-fat breakfast, consisting of an egg McMuffin, a sausage McMuffin and 2 hash browns.

After each meal, blood was drawn and tested. There was no problem detected after the low-fat meal. However, there was a dramatic rise in micro-particles released when the lining of blood vessels was damaged and 3 hours after the high-fat meal, harmful blood fat called triglycerides shop up 81 percent. This would eventually lead of hardening of arteries and clotting or forming clots inside the blood vessels that can potentially cause stroke or heart attack.

The effect of high-fat meal on heart disease was reinforced by a study conducted by researchers from UC Davis. They suggested that the effect of a high-fat meal on blood vessel walls could vary among individuals depending on factors such as their waist size and triglyceride levels. Their study, which was published in February 2011 online in the American Journal of Physiology – ‘Heart and Circulatory Physiology’, showed that eating a common fast food meal could affect inflammatory responses in the blood vessels. Their findings further strengthened the link between belly fat, inflammation and thickening of the arterial linings that can lead to heart disease and strokes.

Triglycerides are a kind of fat found in the blood. Human body uses them for energy. Some
Triglycerides are needed for good health, but high triglycerides can raise the risk of heart disease. Triglycerides are commonly associated with "bad cholesterol," known to increase risk of inflammation of the endothelium, the layer of cells that lines arteries.

61 volunteers with high and normal fasting triglyceride levels and a range of waist sizes were recruited to the study. The levels of triglyceride particles in their blood after they ate a typical fast food breakfast from a major fast food franchise were measured. The breakfast consisted of 2 breakfast sandwiches, hash browns and orange juice.

After the high-fat meal, it was found that the size of a kind of a particle called triglyceride-rich lipoprotein (TGRL) varied directly with the individual's waist size and preexisting blood triglyceride level. These particles can bind to the endothelium, triggering inflammation and an immune response that brings white blood cells to repair the damage. Over time, this can lead to atherosclerosis.

The TGRL particles from the volunteers’ blood were tested in the laboratory and a mixed response was found. Individuals with both a waist size over 32 inches and high triglyceride levels had large lipoprotein particles that bound easily to the endothelial cells and caused inflammation in response to an immune chemical trigger.

The TGRL only caused inflammation when exposed to this immune molecule, suggesting people with existing low-grade inflammation may be more easily affected to endothelial dysfunction related to triglyceride spikes that occur after eating high-fat meals. In people who are predisposed, repeated episodes of inflammation could lead to atherosclerosis.

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