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November 8, 2006 | Issue 90 |
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Even One High-In-Saturated-Fat Meal Fouls Up Your System
What could be wrong with a cheeseburger and chocolate milkshake every now and then? Quite a lot, warns new research, which found that even one meal rich in saturated fat could mess up the ability of “good” HDL cholesterol to protect against damage to arteries.*
In the study, scientists at the Heart Research Institute in Sydney, Australia fed a slice of carrot cake and a milkshake to 14 healthy, normal-weight men and women, ages 18 to 40. The following month, the subjects came back for another cake-and-shake meal.
Coconut oil – 90% saturated fat
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Both meals were the same in their amounts of calories and total fat but very different in the type of fat they contained. One meal was made with coconut oil, which is 90% saturated fat. The other contained safflower oil, which is predominately polyunsaturated fat.
The immediate effect on the subjects’ arteries was very different, too. Three and six hours after each meal, the scientists measured blood flow and assessed how well HDL was protecting arteries from inflammation. What they found is enough to make us put those burgers and shakes down forever.
Compared to the polyunsaturated fat meal, the saturated fat meal essentially turned “good” HDL cholesterol into “bad” HDL cholesterol particles.
Let’s back up here a bit and explain HDL’s role. HDL is supposed to be anti-inflammatory, that is, it’s supposed to inhibit the proliferation of molecules that promote inflammation and cause other molecules to stick to the artery wall, which can destabilize atherosclerotic plaques, triggering plaque rupture and clot formation. These molecules also thicken the blood and slow its flow through the arteries, like congealed fat in liquid flowing through kitchen pipes.
Sludge
After the saturated-fat-rich cake and shake, the scientists noted that the subjects’ HDL particles were accompanied by high levels of these damaging molecules. Moreover, blood flow in the forearms of the subjects three and six hours after the saturated fat meal had slowed considerably compared to blood flow after the non-saturated-fat meal.
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Pritikin Perspective - Healthy Living Made Easier
Pritikin Perspective is a publication for Alumni of the Pritikin Longevity Center. It is dedicated to helping people make healthy changes in their lives. The articles in this publication should not be considered specific medical advice, as each individual circumstance is different. You are strongly encouraged to seek medical advice before beginning a program of diet and exercise.
Editor/Writer: Eugenia Killoran.
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