Posted by hans on June 12, 1998 at 16:21:53:
I always thought rabbits were vegetarians?! Well, anyway, here it is from Reuters News service.
Fast food clogs arteries faster?
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fast food could put people in the fast lane for clogged arteries, researchers reported Thursday.
Not only are burgers, fries and pizza high in fat overall, but they are high in the very worst kind of fat -- oxidized fat, Ilona Staprans and colleagues at the VA
Medical Center in San Francisco found.
It may seem obvious, but Staprans said no one had actually tested oxidized fats in living animals to see if what logic would dictate was actually true.
Her team fed rabbits high-cholesterol diets with a third of their calories from fat -- slightly lower in fat than most western diets. But half the rabbits got 5 percent of those
calories from oxidized fats, found in meat, dairy products, eggs and processed foods.
Fats get oxidized when they come in contact with free radicals -- the unstable, charged molecules found in the blood that are blamed for damaging tissue and genes.
"Food processing, especially heat treatment and drying, induces cholesterol oxidation. Oxidized cholesterols are detected in various food products, including dairy
products, eggs, meat and fish," the researchers wrote in their report, published in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.
Baked products made with eggs and butter are also loaded with oxidized cholesterol.
When free radicals oxidize fat, it changes into the gummy form known as plaque that coats the insides of arteries.
After just three months, the rabbits given the oxidized cholesterol had twice as many fatty streaks on their arteries than the other rabbits. They also had higher
overall levels of cholesterol, especially the "bad" LDL cholesterol linked with heart disease.
"Western diets contain high concentrations of oxidized cholesterol products, and our results suggest that these foods may be a risk factor for atherosclerosis," the
report read.
"With the popularity of fried foods and the widespread fast-food industry, oxidized fats are common in the Western diet and could contribute to heart disease,"
Staprans added in a statement issued by the American Heart Association.
Many scientists believe that the vitamins and other nutrients found in fruits and vegetables can counteract free radicals in the body. The government and most
nutritionists recommend that people eat more fresh fruit and vegetables.