New Study Enforce Old Heart Wisdom

New research shows eating saturated fat damages the ability of the body to protect itself against cardiovascular disease. The study underscores the dietary advice commonly known about avoiding foods having high amounts of saturated fat.

Foods like red meat, whole milk and butter are the biggest enemies of the heart as they don’t just lead to weight gain but also carry lot of cholesterol. In a new study conducted by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology 14 healthy volunteers were monitored for their food intake. The volunteers were given two meals to eat as part of the study, one high in polyunsaturated fat and the other high in saturated fat. The meals were taken one month apart.

All volunteers were given health check-ups following the meals. It was found just the one meal high in saturated fats wreaks havoc on the body’s ability to protect arteries against plaque buildup. This plaque buildup is responsible for hardening of the arteries which in turn causes heart disease.

Old wisdom says the key to a healthy heart is maintenance of a good cholesterol ratio. This means maintaining a higher amount of HDL or “good” cholesterol while trying to reduce LDL or “bad” cholesterol levels as much as possible. The good cholesterol helps remove bad cholesterol from blood vessels. The study found a single high-fat meal was enough to reduce the ability of HDL of stopping the arteries from getting clogged up and also interfered with their ability to expand and transport blood.

While confirming old knowledge, the study also brought good news – a meal with lots of polyunsaturated fat (the healthier form of fat) really helped the HDL fight LDL and keep arteries free of plaque. Through these findings the study has provided more evidence that choosing right foods and avoiding wrong foods is a very important part of keeping the heart healthy.

Foods found to boost HDL and reduce LDL levels include soy protein, the unsaturated fats found in olive oil, vegetable oils, nuts and seeds, and fish containing omega-three fatty acids. The best idea according to experts is to include a wide range of such beneficial foods in your every day diet. One example of such a healthy diet is the Mediterranean diet as it includes lots of vegetables, fruits, olive oil and whole grains.

Following the study researchers are once again stressing on the importance of an overall healthy lifestyle in addition to proper diet for keeping cholesterol at a healthy level. This includes keeping weight at an ideal level and exercising regularly as these are known to increase good cholesterol as cut down on the bad cholesterol.

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