Narrowed vessels through fast food

Fast food increases risk of heart attack and stroke

14/05/2013

Burgers and fries are regularly on the menu for many people. Just how harmful fast food really is has recently been discovered by researchers from the University of Montreal. According to her results, fatty food leads to a strong narrowing of the vessels. The result: A significantly increased risk of diseases such as arteriosclerosis, heart attack and stroke.

Mittelmehrkost good for the vessels
Fast food may hurt us a lot more than previously thought. An investigation by dr. Anil Nigam, Research Director of the „Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation Center“ and visiting professor at the University of Montreal Medical School, and his research team showed that greasy fast food in the subjects resulted in a 24 percent narrowing of the arteries. For the study, the researchers allowed 28 healthy men - all non-smokers - between 18 and 50 years to eat a dish from the Mediterranean kitchen and a fast food meal 12 hours apart.

The Mediterranean food consisted of salmon, almonds and vegetables cooked in olive oil. 51 percent of this meal's calories consisted mostly of monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. As expected, this meal had a positive effect on blood lipid levels. They remained in the normal range for all study participants. Especially in subjects with elevated triglyceride levels, the positive effect of the Mittelmehrkost showed. „We believe that a diet with Mediterranean diet is particularly beneficial for people with high triglyceride levels, such as patients who suffer from the metabolic syndrome, precisely because the Mediterranean cuisine could help to keep the arteries healthy“, said Nigam. Triglycerides are also called neutral fats and make up most of the fats in food. Similar to cholesterol levels, increased blood levels can lead to arteriosclerosis (arteriosclerosis).

Fast food increases risk of cardiovascular disease
After twelve hours, the subjects ate a typical fast food breakfast, which consisted of a sandwich with sausage, egg and cheese. For this purpose three röstis were served. Eighty-five percent of this meal's calories came from fats that were extremely high in saturated fat and did not contain omega-3 fatty acids. When measuring the blood levels two hours after the meal, it was found that the arteries of the study participants had narrowed by 24 percent.

Nigram, who conducted the study to investigate the different effects of fast food and Mediterranean diet on the so-called vascular endothelium, which is the innermost wall layer of the vessels, said: „The result will hopefully change our daily dietary habits. Poor endothelial function is one of the most significant harbingers of atherosclerosis.“ (Ag)