super size me and you

super size me and you

ATTENTION BOYS AND GIRLS!!!

How Much Does One High-Fat Meal Contribute To Heart Disease?

March 04, 2005

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women and a leading cause of death for all Americans. So, researchers at the University of Miami wanted to know if eating just one high-fat meal can contribute to heart disease.

In the acclaimed documentary "Supersize Me," the filmmaker eats all his meals at a McDonald's restaurant for a month, causing his weight and cholesterol to climb.

"We've known for many years a high-fat meal on a regular basis can cause a lot of problems," said University of Miami study participant Araley Peter.

But researchers wanted to know what kind of an effect just one high-fat meal would have.

"The results were very surprising," said University of Miami researcher Eduardo De Marchena.
The startling findings were recently published in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation.

"The people who participated in the study were all young people, like me, in their 20s without any medical problems," Peter said.

On one day, the participants were served a low-fat breakfast of Frosted Flakes, skim milk and orange juice. The next day, participants ate a very high-fat breakfast, consisting of an egg McMuffin, a sausage McMuffin and two hash browns.

After each meal, blood was drawn and tested. No problems were detected after the low-fat meal. But the same couldn't be said for the latter experiment.

"The thing that's very interesting in this study is that just a couple of hours after a high-fat meal, we found evidence that there was damage already in the surface of the blood vessels," De Marchena said.

The evidence was a dramatic increase in micro-particles released when the lining of blood vessels is damaged. And three hours after the meal, harmful blood fat called triglycerides, shot up 81 percent.

"We think that this will eventually lead to hardening of the arteries. It can also lead to clotting or forming clots inside the blood vessels, which can potentially lead to stroke or heart attack," De Marchena said.

And it doesn't have to be a fast food breakfast to be damaging, according to De Marchena. Researchers say the meal they tested was 50 grams of total fat, with 14 grams from saturated fat. And their findings apply to any high-fat food combo, no matter where it's cooked.

The study sends a strong message, according to heart expert Dr. Gervasio Llamas, from Mount Sinai Medical Center.

"Just one meal that is high fat and unhealthy can hurt your arteries. One day, one meal will hurt, and it's measurable," Llamas said.

The high-fat breakfast tested was made up of foods from McDonald's restaurant. McDonald's said that it is committed to offering quality food choices and that the "study is not about McDonald's. It is not where you eat, but the food choices you make, and especially how much you eat."

Researchers agree, and they are planning a new study.

* from the eye-opening super size official site of super size me --http://www.supersizeme.com

** "one burger McLard and a large McFatty fries to go please!"

*** temporary fastfood diet withdrawal follows...

**** {enough with the asterisks already!!!}