But I don't eat fatty foods very often!

[Toliver]

I thought if I could eat "right" most of the time then a splurge of "not-so-good-for-me" food once in awhile wouldn't hurt.

Think again.

"Just one high-fat meal can be bad for arteries"

Eating just one high-fat meal — in this case, carrot cake and a milkshake — can quickly prevent “good” cholesterol from protecting the body against clogged arteries, a small study shows.

Funny how they even consider carrot cake and a milkshake as a meal. Hell, that's just dessert in some parts of the country.

The researchers, led by Dr. Stephen Nicholls, a cardiologist now at the Cleveland Clinic, found that three hours after eating the saturated-fat cake and shake, the lining of the arteries was hindered from expanding to increase blood flow. And after six hours, the anti-inflammatory qualities of the good cholesterol were reduced.

I'd like to know who the bastard is over at MSNBC who keeps coming up with these "killjoy" articles.

edited to add: Thank goodness for Lipitor.

Edited August 8, 2006 by Toliver (log)

[Gifted Gourmet]

“Even one meal of a double cheeseburger with fries and a Coke will mess up your system, let alone a steady diet of it, which is recipe for disaster,” O’Keefe said.

Shouldn't Morgan Spurlock be long since dead? Time Magazine questions on Supersize Me ...

This is incredibly scary for those of us whose credo is "just this one time.."

You may have saved just one life by posting this article, Toliver ... on the other hand, I am realllly depressed now ...

[Mimi Sheraton]

“Even one meal of a double cheeseburger with fries and a Coke will mess up your system, let alone a steady diet of it, which is recipe for disaster,” O’Keefe said.

Shouldn't Morgan Spurlock be long since dead? Time Magazine questions on Supersize Me ...

This is incredibly scary for those of us whose credo is "just this one time.."

You may have saved just one life by posting this article, Toliver ... on the other hand, I am realllly depressed now ...

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[Mimi Sheraton]

Antoine Magnin, original and famous chef at L'Ami Louis in Paris, ate a huge slab of foie gras at 11 every morning and lived to 85, cooking all the way.

If you don' eat any fat, you don't live longer... It- just seems longer.

[Gifted Gourmet]

My grandmother lived to 104 and never knew anything about diets ... she ate everything ... and cooked for her huge family ...

[markk]

Antoine Magnin, original and famous chef at L'Ami Louis in Paris, ate a huge slab of foie gras at 11 every morning and lived to 85,

NOBODY believes me when I tell this, but I was living in London in November of 1991 when the study known as "The French Paradox" was released, and the conclusion drawn in Europe, and the point of all the newspaper stories was that that they had seen that France had the lowest rate of death from heart disease in the world, and when they studied it, the heart-disease rate in the Southwest of France was so incredibly low that it was dragging down the whole French average, and when they investigated, they concluded that it was the duck and goose fat and their livers (which they found to be mono-unsaturated, by the way) were making them live longer - and they cited Gascons who live on duck and goose fat for 3 meals day and live well into their 100's. When I returned to the states, I found that people were ablaze with the US version of the French Paradox (thank you so much, 60 Minutes) which was saying it was the Red Wine that did the trick, when the media in Europe had specifically reported that in the study, they realized that red wine was a constant in European diets (all countries drink it liberally), and that it wasn't the wine at all responsible for the low rates in france, it was the duck/goose fat and the foie gras. And when the NY Times carried the story on its front page, the headline was "Can Foie Gras Aid the Heart?; A French Scientist Says Yes."

So the story of Antoine Magnin eating foie gras every day and living to 85 is perfectly in line with those findings, and not surprising at all! Foie Gras and duck fat are health foods !!!!

Now, if only somebod would come out with a study that Pastrami is good for your heart...

Incidentally, two of us tested the French Paradox findings a few years ago when we were diagnosed with high cholesterol - we eliminated all the traditionally "bad" foods, but did eat foie gras and duck (magret, confit) on average 1.5 times a week for two months, and when we had our cholesterols re-tested, they had both dropped to the low end of normal; our doctor was astounded, until I gave him the full story and sent him the NY Times article.

However, I have been known to rationalize that if I am mostly good, the occasional Pastrami sandwich won't hurt me... so add me to the ranks of the severely depressed as well !!

[jsolomon]

What, you mean to tell me that the diversity that we see on the outside is also reflected on the inside?

Call the Ignobel people. I smell a winner for '06

[scubadoo97]

The important thing to remember was it was a small study. There is a lot of junk science out there and scary warnings based on small studies. Didn't we just hear something to the effect of just walking by someone smoking will lead to devastating changes in our blood vessels and increase our risk of lung cancer.

[johnsmith45678]

Hey, there's one health food diet I'd love to subscribe to - foie gras and duck!

[Gifted Gourmet]

My entire Rosh Hashonah menu is now completely shot ...

Chicken Soup

Classic Gefilte Fish

Old Country Chopped Liver

Beef Brisket

Kasha Varnishkes

Potato Kugel

Honey Cake

oy ...

[I_call_the_duck]

Not to completely discredit this study, but did the subjects in this study fast prior to eating this "meal"? There’s a reason why you’re not supposed to eat at least eight hours prior to a cholesterol check.

Shouldn't Morgan Spurlock be long since dead?   Time Magazine questions on Supersize Me ...

←

Yes, Morgan Spurlock seriously endangered his health while filming Supersize Me. If I remember correctly, he gained about 20 pounds, his liver became enlarged, his cholesterol shot up...and this was at about the 20 day mark. His doctors warned him that if he'd continue, the damage could be irreversible.

Edited August 8, 2006 by I_call_the_duck (log)

[SuzySushi]

I need to go console myself with some (good-for-the-heart but high-in-saturated-fat) dark chocolate!

[Ohba]

Not to completely discredit this study, but did the subjects in this study fast prior to eating this "meal"?  There’s a reason why you’re not supposed to eat at least eight hours prior to a cholesterol check.

It's rarely the studies themselves that are at fault, but the reporting of the studies. I think this has long been a source of frustration to many scientists, and I recall seeing a complaint that even the science correspondents of newspapers are prone to badly misinterpreting the findings of studies.

The effect is intensified when non-specialized journalists take a positive or negative finding and twist it to "drinking red wine is good for you" or "according to a new study, you might want to think twice before reaching for that slice of cake", which reduces it to the level of the moronic.

[LAZ]

The Wall Street Journal had a very good article the other day about a study that showed that unless you consume them along with fat, you can lose the benefits of eating vegetables, since many of the nutrients are fat-soluble.

The WSJ piece is subscription only, but here's a fairly good summary.

Edited August 10, 2006 by LAZ (log)

[JohnL]

The Wall Street Journal had a very good article the other day about a study that showed that unless you consume them along with fat, you can lose the benefits of eating vegetables, since many of the nutrients are fat-soluble.

The WSJ piece is subscription only, but here's a fairly good summary.

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The MSNBC piece is typical of what we get these days.

In fact, MSNBC seems to have done nothing more than print an AP story for the fat piece linked here.

It is amazing but they (MSNBC) also carried a piece about the need to consume some fat with your vegetables earlier (you can access it by linking to the fat story in question and scrolling down to the listing of other nutrition related stories at the bottom of the page).

obviously MSNBC do not read their own stories--or worse--just don't care.

It was easier to just reprint the AP piece.

So a piece of shoddy initial reporting gets passed around and becomes conventional wisdom!

The AP story is based on a study that raises more questions than answers (it simply does not pass the smell test) in the first place.

--14 people 18-40? I am no statistician but.......

some other problems have been noted by other posters here.

unfortunately, the whole food and diet and nutrition area has become highly politicized.

The press should be gatekeepers, challenging stories like this with healthy skepticism and providing the public with perspective on these issues.

[judiu]

Antoine Magnin, original and famous chef at L'Ami Louis in Paris, ate a huge slab of foie gras at 11 every morning and lived to 85,

Now, if only somebod would come out with a study that Pastrami is good for your heart...

However, I have been known to rationalize that if I am mostly good, the occasional Pastrami sandwich won't hurt me... so add me to the ranks of the severely depressed as well !!

←

It may not be good for the physical muscular pump, but it sure helps the emotional one, especially when you're homesick for "New Yawk"!