One high-fat meal may be enough to set stage for heart disease

Heart diseases are a major cause for concern with increasing number of people facing a threat from the condition due to their lifestyle. While occasional meals high on calories and fat are common during the festive season, it can actually turn out to be much more damaging.

A new study has found that just one high fat meal is enough to pave the way for grave heart conditions. Healthy young men were found to have blood vessels struggling to relax and immune response similar to one caused by infections hours after having milkshake made with whole milk, whipping cream and ice cream.

While this shift in healthy people is temporary, doctors said the findings about the cumulative effects of such a diet can explain isolated cases of a heart attack right after consuming a high fat meal. Meanwhile men who consumed meals with similar calories but no fat did not experience a similar unhealthy shift.

Red cells are known to carry oxygen through the blood and are flexible. But a single high fat meal makes them grow spikes and spew venom.