Talk about fast food — eat just one of those popular restaurant breakfast sandwiches and your body will be feeling the effects before noon.

New research shows that just two hours after eating the combination of butter, bun, eggs, bacon, cheese and salt (containing a total of 900 calories and 50 g of fat) blood flow through the arms of a test group decreased by 15 to 20 per cent.

Dr. Todd Anderson, Heart and Stroke Foundation researcher and speaking at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress this week in Toronto, said it’s uncertain exactly why the blood flow is temporarily impeded but that it’s obvious “the body isn’t happy” with what it’s ingesting.

He said it can be a number of reasons, including an excess of oxygen free radicals (created by the sandwich) that affect the blood vessels.

“But the real question is: what’s this doing to blood vessels over a period of time?” says Anderson, who is also the director of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta and head of cardiac science at the University of Calgary. “We already know what too much fat intake does to one’s health, but now we should consider this.”

Anderson described research out of his lab, led by Vincent Lee, where a group of non-smoking students were studied twice — once on a day they had no breakfast, once on a day after consuming two “commercially available” breakfast sandwiches.

The objective: assess the acute effects of just one high-fat meal on microvascular function — an indicator of overall vascular (blood vessel) health.

The measurement used is called the VTI (velocity time integral) and is taken using Doppler ultrasound.

“It tells us how much blood flow you can get in your arm,” says Anderson “The higher the better, which means the small vessels can dilate to capacity, and the blood vessel hormones are working well.”

Anderson says results from the tests showed blood flow was reduced, triggered by the ingestion of the sandwiches.

“I won’t say, ‘never have a breakfast sandwich,’ but individuals have to show good judgment,” he says. “We’ve learned something new (through the recent research) but we’ve known for decades what a bad diet can do to our health.”

Anderson says fast-food restaurants have become part of our culture and, for the most part, we’re held hostage to a menu over which the consumer has little control.

He says “paying attention” to the ingredients and portion is key while learning the proper amount of fats, sodium etc. you are allowed on a daily basis.

High-fat diets are associated with developing atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries due to plaque build up) and can eventually lead to heart disease, stroke or even death.

The 50g of fat ingested with the two breakfast sandwiches is a days allotment for a 70 kilogram man.

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Dr. Beth Abramson, Heart and Stroke Foundation spokesperson, says Anderson’s serves to remind us that our behaviours are the backbone of preventing heart disease.

“Remember that whether you eat at home or go to a restaurant you’re still in charge of what you eat,” she says. “Consider all the choices and try to cut down on saturated and trans fats, calories and sodium. That’s one of the keys to decreasing your risk of heart disease and stroke.”