Saturated Fats Have An Immediate Effect on the Blood

If you’re thinking about having a nice meal this evening keep in mind this very interesting finding of a group of Australia researchers. They fed two groups of people two meals consisting of a piece of carrot cake and a milk shake. In one meal the cake was made with coconut oil, which is high in saturated fat; in the other meal the cake was made with polyunsaturated safflower oil. Blood tests revealed that eating the cake made with coconut oil (saturated fat) as opposed to the cake made with safflower oil (unsaturated fat) reduced flexibility in the arteries and caused harmful changes in cholesterol levels, both of which increase the likelihood of clogging arteries.

One-Meal Tipping Point

The findings suggest that even one meal or dose of saturated fats has an immediate effect on the body and increases the likelihood of fatty plaque buildup in the arteries. If you are living on the cusp of coronary disease then you might think twice about ingesting even one dose of saturated fats until at least your condition improves. This also suggests that healthy individuals might want to consider spreading their saturated fat intake out rather than binging on it in a random day or two. Instead of eating poorly all weekend long, give yourself a treat for one meal but not the whole weekend. It doesn’t take long for the body to react to the fats you ingest.

Cholesterol Association

In a related note it has also been found that those suffering from Sleep Apnea ate on average, an additional 88.16 milligrams of cholesterol a day. The study felt that sleep apnea caused the overeating so this suggests that those with sleep apnea should be more concerned about what kind of fats they take in because they statistically are more likely to ingest more of them. Take a look at this guide for tips to treat sleep apnea symptoms while you work on correcting the underlying problem.

Source
Best Life – Dec ‘07
University of Arizona College of Medicine