How Exercise Protects Your Arteries After a High-Fat Meal

Uh-oh! You overdid it and ate too many high-fat foods for lunch. You may not be able to reverse the calorie damage, but there may be a way to protect your arteries. How? By taking a brisk walk. According to a recent study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology, exercising after eating foods high in saturated fat helps to undo some of the negative effects fatty foods like mashed potatoes and butter and macaroni and cheese have on your arteries.

Exercising After a High-Fat Meal Protects Arteries

In this study, researchers gave participants a high-fat breakfast containing 940 calories of which half of those calories were from fat. They other group ate a breakfast with a similar number of calories, but they dined on foods that contained no fat. Meals high in fat, especially saturated fat, cause dysfunction of cells lining the inside of arteries so they don't expand as readily as they should. This phenomenon called endothelial dysfunction is a precursor to heart disease.

When the researchers looked at the brachial arteries of the participants who ate the high-fat breakfast four hours later, they found their arteries were less flexible and were behaving like the arteries of someone who already had heart disease. They were displaying classic signs of endothelial dysfunction.

The good news? Participants who walked on a treadmill for 45 minutes two hours after eating their high-fat breakfast had arteries that expanded normally in response to blood flow - like healthy arteries should. This is good news for people who eat too many fatty foods. Taking a walk a few hours after a high-fat meal could undo some of the blood vessel damage a high-fat meal can do.

The Bottom Line?

This doesn't mean you should eat more high-fat foods, but use this study as motivation to take a walk after eating. The worst thing you can do after eating a big meal is to lounge around in an easy chair. You don't have to run a marathon, but a 30-minute walk will keep your arteries behaving in a healthy manner. In addition, a brisk walk increases insulin sensitivity, so you'll pump out less of this fat-storage hormone. Walking after a meal also stimulates gastric motility, so it'll help you avoid that bloated feeling many people get after eating.

When you eat fats, choose healthy ones like the monounsaturated fats in olives, olive oil avocados and nuts and heart-healthy polyunsaturated fats in fatty fish, walnuts and flaxseed. These fats help to lower the risk of heart disease unlike saturated fats that can raise your cholesterol level. Enjoy healthy fats in moderation, and if you go overboard, take a brisk walk or jog.

References:

Indiana University news room. "Physical Activity Reverses Arterial Damage From High-Fat Meal"

The Nutritionist. Robert Wildman, PhD, RD. 2002.