A study in The Journal of Nutritional Physiology found that eating just one high-fat meal can quickly affect blood vessels and brain blood flow in both young and older men, with stronger effects seen in older participants.
Researchers at the University of South Wales studied 41 healthy, non-smoking men, 20 in their twenties and 21 in their sixties, who had no heart disease and weren't on medications that could influence results.
Each man consumed a high-fat 'brain bomb' drink made of heavy cream, chocolate syrup, sugar, and powdered milk, containing 1,362 calories and 130 grams of fat, similar to a large fast-food meal. This type of meal is known to cause a short-term rise in blood fats, a condition called post-prandial hyperlipidaemia.
The team measured blood vessel health and brain blood flow before and four hours after the meal. Blood fat levels, especially triglycerides, rose sharply in both groups, from 0.88 to 2.26 mmol/L in younger men and from 1.39 to 2.92 mmol/L in older men.
Artery flexibility also dropped, with flow-mediated dilation falling by 0.7 percentage points in younger men and 1.2 points in older men, showing that arteries became less responsive.
In the brain, blood vessels became stiffer, reducing their ability to cushion changes in pressure, a factor that can increase stroke risk. The brain's ability to maintain steady blood flow also weakened, particularly in older men, who were more vulnerable because their vessels were already stiffer and their baseline brain circulation was lower before the meal.
The findings suggest that even a single fatty meal can temporarily impair blood vessel function and disrupt brain circulation, and the effects may be more severe with age.
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