You may already be aware that junk food meals are mainly composed of saturated fat, but a new study has shown that a singular junk meal can cause damage to your arteries, whilst adding a Mediterranean meal rich in good fats to your diet causes no damage, and may even have a positive effect.
Researchers from the Montreal Heart Institute asked 28 non-smoking men to fast for 12 hours and undergo an ultrasound of their antecubital artery, which is found at the crease of your elbow. The men then ate a Mediterranean-type meal first, composed of salmon, almonds, and vegetables cooked in olive oil, of which 51% of total calories came from fat. The participants ate a junk food-type meal one week later, which was a sausage, egg and cheese sandwich and three hash browns, and 58% of its total calories came from fat. The participants had further ultrasounds after 2 and 4 hours to see how the food had affected their arteries.
The team, led by Dr. Anil Nigam, Director of Research at the Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation Centre (ÉPIC) and associate professor at the university’s Faculty of Medicine, found that eating the sandwich made participants’ arteries dilate 24% less than when they were fasting. After the Mediterranean meal, on the other hand, the arteries dilated normally and maintained a good blood flow.
Further results showed that the men who had higher blood triglyceride levels benefited more from the healthy meals. Compared to the participants with lower blood triglyceride levels, their arteries demonstrated a much better response. Dr. Nigam reported that ‘We believe that a Mediterranean-type diet may be particularly beneficial for individuals with high triglyceride levels, such as patients with metabolic syndrome, precisely because it could help keep arteries healthy’.
Dr. Nigam undertook this investigation because measuring your endothelial function, or how much your arteries can dilate, can help predict long-term wellness risks like developing coronary artery disease. He said ‘These results will positively alter how we eat on a daily basis. Poor endothelial function is one of the most significant precursors of atherosclerosis. It is now something to think about at every meal’.
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