Health Insurance News - Low Fat is Low Stress
Eating a balanced diet, exercising and having a good health insurance plan are the three components to creating and maintaining good health. A new study shows just how important eating a low-fat diet can be. Just one high-fat meal increases stress levels on the body.
According to The Toronto Star, participants of the study saw blood pressure go up 1.25 to 1.5 times higher after eating a McDonald's breakfast meal.
30 young healthy subjects, all without any history of high blood pressure or heart problems were given either a low-fat or high-fat breakfast. Half of the subjects were given low-fat breakfast of cereal, a fruit bar and juice. The other subjects were given a Sausage McMuffin, an Egg McMuffin and hash browns. Both meals contained about 825 calories, but the fast food version had 42 fat grams.
Two hours after eating, the subjects were given a series of stress tests such as public speaking, math tests and putting their hands in icy water. The people who ate the higher fat meals showed higher blood pressure levels.
High-fats foods are thought to constrict blood vessels, therefore making the heart beat harder in order to circulate blood. Travis Campbell, the lead researcher of the study, says, "We already know that a high-fat diet is linked to cardiovascular disease, certain kinds of cancer and so on."
The study is significant because it shows that even one meal can have an impact on health. This doesn't mean that people shouldn't enjoy an indulgent meal once in a while, but it's good to know that eating high-fat foods on a regular basis can be harmful.
Perhaps changing our diets will lead to better health, which will in turn lead to lower health costs and lower health insurance premiums.
According to The Toronto Star, participants of the study saw blood pressure go up 1.25 to 1.5 times higher after eating a McDonald's breakfast meal.
30 young healthy subjects, all without any history of high blood pressure or heart problems were given either a low-fat or high-fat breakfast. Half of the subjects were given low-fat breakfast of cereal, a fruit bar and juice. The other subjects were given a Sausage McMuffin, an Egg McMuffin and hash browns. Both meals contained about 825 calories, but the fast food version had 42 fat grams.
Two hours after eating, the subjects were given a series of stress tests such as public speaking, math tests and putting their hands in icy water. The people who ate the higher fat meals showed higher blood pressure levels.
High-fats foods are thought to constrict blood vessels, therefore making the heart beat harder in order to circulate blood. Travis Campbell, the lead researcher of the study, says, "We already know that a high-fat diet is linked to cardiovascular disease, certain kinds of cancer and so on."
The study is significant because it shows that even one meal can have an impact on health. This doesn't mean that people shouldn't enjoy an indulgent meal once in a while, but it's good to know that eating high-fat foods on a regular basis can be harmful.
Perhaps changing our diets will lead to better health, which will in turn lead to lower health costs and lower health insurance premiums.
