High-fat Diet Leads to Inflammation of Blood Vessels

Consuming a diet rich in high fat food items could cause  inflammation of blood vessels, a new study published in the journal American Journal of Physiology reveals.
The medical term for blood vessel inflammation is vasculitis or angiitis. Inflammation of veins is called venulitis and inflammation of arteries is called arteritis. Vasculitis is the term used for a group of diseases that cause blood vessels inflammation.
In vasculitis, the inflammation of blood vessels causes them to become thicker. This makes it harder for the blood to move through them, and the supply of oxygen to the tissues is hindered. In extreme cases, the condition can result in blot clots and aneurysms.
Researchers from the University of California analyzed the effects of eating fast food breakfast among 61 volunteers, all of whom had varying waistline sizes and triglyceride levels. Each breakfast consisted of an orange juice, two breakfast sandwiches and hash browns.
The researchers found that based on an individual’s triglyceride level and waistline size, the size of triglyceride rich lipoprotein (TGRL) varied. The TGRL is responsible for the cause of inflammation in endothelium, which is a thin layer of cells that lines the entire circulatory system.
The researchers added that those who had bigger waistlines of over 32 inches and had higher triglyceride levels were at a higher risk of developing inflammation since the size of the TGRL was bigger than among those with lower waistlines.
Wine may calm inflammation in blood vessels
Adding to evidence that a little wine can do a heart good, a new study suggests that women who drink moderate amounts may have less inflammation in their blood vessels.
Spanish researchers found that after four weeks of drinking two glasses of wine per day, women showed lower levels of certain inflammatory substances in their blood. The findings, reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggest a mechanism by which wine -- particularly red wine -- may protect the heart.
Numerous studies have found that wine drinkers tend to have lower rates of heart disease than teetotalers do. Research also suggests that higher levels of "good" HDL cholesterol may be one reason, though not a full explanation of the benefit.
Figuring out exactly how wine may protect the heart is important in order to prove that the link between wine and heart health is, in fact, a direct one, according to Dr. Emilio Sacanella, the lead researcher on the new study.
Studies that show wine drinkers to have better heart health do not prove that wine is the reason, explained Sacanella, of the University of Barcelona. Wine lovers may, for example, have generally better diets, higher exercise levels or other heart-healthy habits, he told Reuters Health.
For their study, Sacanella and his colleagues focused on the potential effects of wine on inflammation. Inflammation is part of the body's response to injury. It's thought that chronic, low-level inflammation -- in response to stresses like smoking, high cholesterol and obesity -- contributes to the buildup of fatty deposits called plaques in the inner lining of the arteries.
Inflammation may also make these plaques more likely to rupture and create a blood clot that could then trigger a heart attack.
Sacanella's team recruited 35 healthy women who regularly drank amounts of wine. Each woman spent four weeks on a heart-healthy, but wine-free, diet, followed by four weeks in which they had a glass of red wine with lunch and dinner. They followed the same pattern with white wine.
Overall, the study found, the women's HDL levels climbed after four weeks of drinking, while their blood levels of a number of inflammatory substances, such as C-reactive protein, declined. Red wine had a more pronounced effect than white wine.
The greater benefit of red wine may be related to its higher concentration of polyphenols, according to the researchers. Polyphenols are plant compounds that act as antioxidants and may help reduce inflammation.
According to Sacanella, population studies have suggested that people who drink moderate amounts of wine -- about a glass or two per day -- may lower their risk of dying from heart disease by nearly one-third compared with non-drinkers.
"So a person who usually drinks up to this quantity of alcohol should maintain this healthy habit," he said.
However, he added, doctors cannot recommend that non-drinkers take up the habit, as some people are vulnerable to drinking problems and the health consequences that come with that.