Double Bacon Cheese Burger ... With a Side of Cardio?

Ivanhoe Newswire
Wednesday, August 30, 2006; 12:00 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A meal high in saturated fat may improve the condition of your arteries, provided that you skip dessert and head straight to the treadmill afterwards.

Researchers from Indiana University found physical activity two hours after a high-fat meal not only reverses the arterial dysfunction caused by the fatty foods, but actually improves the function of the very same arteries compared to before the meal.

Professor and author Janet P. Wallace, of Indiana University Bloomington's Department of Kinesiology, reports, "What happens four hours after that high fat meal is that your arteries look just the like the arteries of a person who has heart disease." She goes on to write, "What our study showed is that when you exercise after that meal, it doesn't look like sick arteries anymore."

For this study, eight subjects -- all 25 years of age and in good health -- were measured in three separate phases. Subjects were examined after a low fat meal, then a high fat meal, then after eating a high fat meal followed up by walking on a treadmill for 45 minutes two hours afterwards.  The phases were spaced apart from anywhere between two to seven days.

Researchers say results from this study suggest physical activity may be effective in reversing the adverse vascular effects observed following the consumption of a high fat meal.

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Western society, according to past research published in the International Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Research.

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SOURCE: European Journal of Applied Physiology, June 30, 2006