In one study, 15 healthy young men drank a liquid “meal” with 1,200 calories and 100 grams of fat. Five hours later, blood flow through their secondary coronary arteries–the blood vessels that do all the work when bigger arteries are blocked–decreased by 18 percent. The research could explain why some people get chest pains after a fatty meal.
Separately, scientists found that after a single cigarette, blood levels of vitamin C and other antioxidants dropped in men. Their blood-vessel walls also stopped releasing nitric oxide. That could make it more difficult to get blood and oxygen to the heart.
So think before you splurge. Your heart will thank you.
