3rdgensooner
4/15/2011, 04:18 PM
Could a fry-up followed by doughnuts be good for the heart? (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1376690/Could-fry-followed-doughnuts-good-heart.html#)
It sounds like the recipe for a heart attack. But a fry-up followed by a plate of doughnuts could actually be good for the heart.
Research suggests that the odd greasy treat somehow boosts the heart muscle, reducing the amount of damage done when a heart attack occurs.
Those with a taste for junk food will be glad to know that it is thought that fried foods, like chips, bacon and doughnuts, provide the best protection.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/04/14/article-1376690-0169D673000004B0-456_468x351.jpg
Good news! New research shows that fatty foods such as a fry up could
help protect the heart muscle during cardiac arrest
Unfortunately, doctors stress that the research is still preliminary – and it is far too early to swap muesli topped with blueberries for a traditional English breakfast.
The U.S. researchers fed mice on a lard-based or normal diets for periods of 24 hours to six weeks and then looked at how they fared when they had a heart attack.
Instead, those fed the fatty food for up to two weeks actually had the mildest heart attacks.
Most strikingly, those who were on the lard diet for just a day suffered heart attacks that were 70 per cent smaller than those in the animals given normal food, the annual Experimental Biology conference heard.
University of Cincinnati researcher Lauren Haar said: 'This shows that acute, or short-term, high-fat feeding in animal models does preserve cardiac function.'
It is unclear how short bursts of fat help the heart but it may be through boosting the amount of energy available to the heart muscle, aiding the healing process.
Miss Haar said: 'This could mean great things for patient care if we can find the mechanisms that come into play to cause this cardioprotection.
'This may also show that, while it is important to eat right, not all bad foods should be avoided all of the time.
'This could change the way we view nutrition and dietary recommendations.'
Possibilities include people who have had heart attacks being given the green light to eat the occasional fatty treat.
Co-researcher Jack Rubinstein, a heart disease expert, said: 'Right now, after you have had a heart attack, they say to have a low-fat diet but we think that may be a little too draconian.'
However, he warned that fatty foods' reputation for clogging arteries and causing heart attacks in the first place mean it is too early for people to start indulging.
Dr Rubinstein said: 'We still don’t know how it plays out in a balance between bad effects on the arteries that give blood to the heart versus the beneficial effects that we think happen on the heart muscle itself.
'People should continue to follow their doctors' advice.'
It sounds like the recipe for a heart attack. But a fry-up followed by a plate of doughnuts could actually be good for the heart.
Research suggests that the odd greasy treat somehow boosts the heart muscle, reducing the amount of damage done when a heart attack occurs.
Those with a taste for junk food will be glad to know that it is thought that fried foods, like chips, bacon and doughnuts, provide the best protection.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/04/14/article-1376690-0169D673000004B0-456_468x351.jpg
Good news! New research shows that fatty foods such as a fry up could
help protect the heart muscle during cardiac arrest
Unfortunately, doctors stress that the research is still preliminary – and it is far too early to swap muesli topped with blueberries for a traditional English breakfast.
The U.S. researchers fed mice on a lard-based or normal diets for periods of 24 hours to six weeks and then looked at how they fared when they had a heart attack.
Instead, those fed the fatty food for up to two weeks actually had the mildest heart attacks.
Most strikingly, those who were on the lard diet for just a day suffered heart attacks that were 70 per cent smaller than those in the animals given normal food, the annual Experimental Biology conference heard.
University of Cincinnati researcher Lauren Haar said: 'This shows that acute, or short-term, high-fat feeding in animal models does preserve cardiac function.'
It is unclear how short bursts of fat help the heart but it may be through boosting the amount of energy available to the heart muscle, aiding the healing process.
Miss Haar said: 'This could mean great things for patient care if we can find the mechanisms that come into play to cause this cardioprotection.
'This may also show that, while it is important to eat right, not all bad foods should be avoided all of the time.
'This could change the way we view nutrition and dietary recommendations.'
Possibilities include people who have had heart attacks being given the green light to eat the occasional fatty treat.
Co-researcher Jack Rubinstein, a heart disease expert, said: 'Right now, after you have had a heart attack, they say to have a low-fat diet but we think that may be a little too draconian.'
However, he warned that fatty foods' reputation for clogging arteries and causing heart attacks in the first place mean it is too early for people to start indulging.
Dr Rubinstein said: 'We still don’t know how it plays out in a balance between bad effects on the arteries that give blood to the heart versus the beneficial effects that we think happen on the heart muscle itself.
'People should continue to follow their doctors' advice.'