Just one high fat meal starts clogging arteries

I've written before about research showing that just one high fat meal can cause arteries to stiffen for a few hours after slugging down the lard.  The medical folks call this artery stiffening "endothelial dysfunction".

The first thing most people think of is,  "so what.  I only eat high fat meals occasionally". Usually the infamous, "it's just one time" excuse is rolled out.

You've heard me address this jewel before.. yeah, it was just one time last week.  And the week before.  Oh, right.. that wedding last month.. nice buffet!  Christmas.. huge spread this year. Office party, Superbowl party, birthday party.. you get the picture.

Then there's the "treat" thing.  Yeah I know.. I like to treat myself a little now then.. I know I should cut back, but it's.. it's just a treat and I deserve a treat!

No doubt the food tastes good. But is fat gain a treat?  Are high triglycerides, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure a treat?  "Cris, you're a patronizing jerk!"  Yeah, I hear that sometimes, or sometimes that sentiment is so strong I don't need to hear it, I can taste it.  Most of the time though it's just laughed off because there isn't a strong connection with the real and immediate health risks associated with overeating.. overeating has a well established reward profile.

When I was a smoker I had the same defence when someone would say I should quit smoking.

I don't see smoking as a "treat" anymore, and the very thought of assigning cancer sticks the "treat" moniker is simply insane.

The latest research shows that one high fat meal increases inflammatory responses that lead to clogging arteries; in this case the study fed a serving consisting of two breakfast sandwiches, hash browns, and an orange juice from a fast food restaurant to willing study subjects.

The most interesting part of what was discovered was that if your waist girth was greater than 32 inches and you already had high triglycerides, you had a greater inflammatory response.

What's worrisome is that the inflammatory response that's causes here is a specific kind of lipoprotein increases and this is directly related to making fats stick to arterial walls, or "clogging arteries".

It's a self feeding mechanism.. overeating causes fat gain and rise in blood triglycerides. Having increased abdominal fat and high triglycerides increases the artery clogging effect of overeating, and every time a high fat meal is consumed, this process occurs.

 Endothelial inflammation correlates with subject triglycerides and waist size following a high fat meal — AJP - Heart

Is there anything that can be done about this?

Practice disassociating reward with high fat meals.

Eating healthy is the real treat.  Eat healthy, tasty meals and eat less.

We'll feel great, have more energy, and won't feel trapped by thinking we need high fat unhealthy foods to feel rewarded.  Oh yeah.. and we won't have high tryglicerides, clogged arteries, or be overweight.. that's worth more than a high fat meal.. isn't it?

More breaks from sitting are good for waistlines and hearts

ScienceDaily (2011-01-13) -- It is becoming well accepted that, as well as too little exercise, too much sitting is bad for people's health. Now a new study has found that it is not just the length of time people spend sitting that can make a difference, but also the number of breaks that they take. Plenty of breaks, even if they are as little as one minute, seem to be good for people's hearts and their waistlines.

Eat Healthy At Home

Justine Routhier of the Weekend Wakeup Show on CJOB gave me a call about this article she read in the Huffington Post "How Eating at Home Can Save Your Life".

Link on link below for audio of the CJOB interview with Justine

The main points I liked from the article were:

• Throw out junk food
• Learn how to cook and shop
• Plant a garden
• Invest in food

Whenever we see lists like this it doesn't mean we have to embark on all of the initiatives immediately to benefit.  Choosing just one of these will lead to positive health changes that make you feel good.

While the family meal may seem like something from the 1950's, or indeed earlier as the article points out, there are many positive health benefits to making our own meals at home.

Make preparing meals a reward process that provides nutritious food that makes us healthy and feel good.  Sounds like mere words, a bunch of self appeasing rhetoric, but it's true.

We're so detached from eating for our health the mere mention of it puts many on the defensive as it's seen as a suggestion that trespasses on ones personal choices and rewards.

But those heavy calorie foods are killing us.. literally.  And we smile, and we make jokes, and we laugh it off. Every year though it catches up with more and more Canadians becoming overweight, inactive, and presenting with the health problems that accompany being overweight.

But why dwell on that..

It really is satisfying and rewarding to sit down with the family and enjoy a healthy meal.

Take turns making meals, explore the uncountable number of healthy recipes from around the world that can be found on the net.

One of my fave's is Worlds Healthiest Foods

If you haven't done it for a while, make a point of having some regular healthy family meals.