Photo: Joshua Rappeneker, Flickr

We know fatty foods can take a toll on our waistlines and our health. But how bad is just one unhealthy meal? It's a nutritional trainwreck, as Yunji De Nies and Jon Garcia from ABC News found out.

De Nies and Garcia set out to determine the effect just one meal has on the body. So they headed to the University of Maryland Medical Center, where their blood was analyzed and their arteries were examined before and after they ate a meal consisting of deep fried macaroni and cheese, quesadilla burger and monster-sized deep dish sundae. Pre-meal test results: Both were perfectly healthy.

Things didn't look so great after they each worked at consuming nearly 6,190 calories and 187 grams of fat (the USDA recommends 2,000 calories and no more than 20 grams of saturated fat per day). While neither could finish their massive portions, what they did manage to eat made them both feel tired and sluggish, and Garcia got a severe headache. Then, after two hours and post-meal testing, Garcia's blood samples were very cloudy -- the fat was literally flooding his system. De Nies' blood sample was not as startling, but the ultrasound of her arteries revealed her heart was working so hard to pump blood through her narrowing arteries, she could actually hear the difference -- you can hear it too, in this video.

Last night, I went to sleep around 11:30 only to wake up at 3:00 AM. Darn insomnia. For me, sleep is as elusive as the Loch Ness monster. It's a bummer, too, because sleep is so important for health. Not only does it directly affect your energy level, a good night's rest can also help you manage your weight, and research now shows that skipping sleep can harden your arteries.

If you're like me and sleep doesn't come easy, try these tips:

• Exercise regularly, but not within three hours of bedtime.
  
• Don't eat or drink a lot before bed.
• Stick to a schedule, and try to go to bed at roughly the same time each night.
• Make your bedroom restful by turning out all the lights, keeping the TV and radio off and maybe investing in a white noise machine (or using something like a quiet fan or air purifier for white noise).
• Relax before bedtime with a bath, a book or anything else that calms you. Avoid the computer and TV right before bed as they can be stimulating.

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Regretting that fatty meal or snack you just inhaled? I feel your pain. No worries, though -- just hop outside or on a treadmill and get walking.

A recent study suggests that taking a walk can counteract the negative effects fatty foods have on your arteries. Here's how: Eating high-fat foods breaks down the endothelium (the layer of cells responsible for preventing heart disease) in your arteries. But walking after you eat these foods helps your arteries recover. Amazingly, it helps them get stronger too. The experts at Family Circle magazine (November 29, 2008) recommend this walking workout for maximum benefits.

• Walk slowly for five minutes to warm up at an intensity level of two (about 2.5 mph on a treadmill).
• Walk briskly for 45 minutes at an intensity level of five (about 4 mph on a treadmill).
• Walk leisurely for five minutes to cool down at an intensity level of three (about 3 mph on a treadmill).

Think walking isn't enough to combat the effects of fatty foods? Try fighting the fat by slashing the worst of it from your diet.

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What's your reason for training for a marathon? Personal sense of achievement? A bet with your buddies? To get a hot body? To improve your heart health? If you answered yes to that last one only, you might consider re-thinking your motivation after recent studies that showed marathoners aren't as heart-healthy as you might think.

In fact, marathoners tend to have higher levels of calcium build-up in their arteries, which can lead to plaques and ultimately heart attacks. The reason? Unknown. What is known is that these findings contradict everything we know about regular running -- it's been shown to reduce cholesterol, lower blood pressure and help in the maintenance of a healthy weight.

The bottom line? I wouldn't stop running just yet if I were you -- it seems the benefits greatly outweigh the risks. But all the same, if you feel compelled to scale back your running routine to, say, half marathons, go for it. Any amount of running is better than none at all.

(Via CalorieLab)

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Do you lift weights to burn calories? Fight fat? Whittle away at your waist? Yes, Yes, and Yes for me. Do you use strength training as a stress buster, though? Not sure I tackle lifting as a means to stress reduction but I must say it's a definite side effect. And if keep at my weighty endeavors, I might teach my body to regularly recover better from stress.

People with decent muscle mass have an easier time recovering from mental stress, says RealAge. Use dumbbells, resistance bands, or your own body weight to build muscle and you'll be one step closer to mastering stress reduction. Why? Because lean body mass (more muscle, less fat), helps the body normalize blood pressure more quickly after a stressful event. A fit body does a better job of ridding itself of sodium, you see, and that takes a big load off your heart and arteries when stress starts to surface.

Time to lift, my friends -- lift your body healthy and lift away your stress.

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The American Heart Association's Go Red campaign draws attention to heart disease in women. The organization recently announced the nine women that are going to be the faces of the campaign.

While having a celebrity promote a cause is inspiring, I think having real women -- women that could be your friends, sisters, neighbors -- is even more inspiring. Take 39-year-old Cathy for instance; she's an athlete but when her heart rate skyrocketed unexpectedly she went to the doctor and was later diagnosed with cardiomyopathy. Or 53-year-old Patricia who underwent surgery after learning she had a severely blocked artery; while on the operating table she went into cardiac arrest and was miraculously revived. Their stories are going to be aired on NBC soon; AHA has an airtime schedule for your convenience.

You can also take inspiration from the seven real women that are the faces of AHA's Choose to Move fitness program.

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The lesser known sister of coronary artery disease (CAD), peripheral arterial disease (PAD) involves clogging of the arteries around the body -- often in the legs. The two conditions often go hand in hand, but researchers have recently reported that, of the two, patients with PAD often fare worse.

Researchers based their findings on comparisons of CAD patients who underwent coronary angioplasty and PAD patients who underwent a variety of surgical interventions such as abdominal aortic surgery and lower limb reconstruction. The annual mortality rate for PAD patients was 5.7% -- 2.7% higher that than for CAD patients.

Researchers state that PAD patients are less likely to receive medication for their condition. The undertreatment could be the cause of the higher mortality rate.

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I like nuts. Okay, that sounded weird. Allow me to back up for a second -- I like peanuts, almonds, cashews and even the occasional macadamia. All make for great, healthy snacks, and all of them carry their own, individual health benefits. But, the one nut that I just can't seem to develop a taste for is one that may be the very best in terms of lowering cholesterol and protecting blood vessels: Walnuts. Despite what I keep reading about how healthy walnuts are for you, how many times I see news briefs saying the same thing, or even how my fiance swears that they have helped stabilize her cholesterol levels, I still can't bring myself to eat those damn things.

But, I should try. Maybe I can coat them with something delicious -- like dark chocolate, which would also provide me with the health benefits of its own natural flavonoids. Cinnamon is supposed to help regulate insulin/blood sugar levels, so maybe that would be yet another healthy way to eat walnuts without wanting to spit them out when no one is looking. Yeah, that sounds pretty good. Roasting them might help, kind of like almonds or chestnuts. The bottom line is that these damn nuts are healthy and the science is certainly there to support that -- yet, I still can't bring myself to eat them.

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In as little as eight weeks, your arteries can begin to become more elastic if you eat a proper diet and begin exercising regularly.

Arterial elasticity is very good for your heart, as it allows blood to flow with much greater ease, thereby making your heart's jump of pumping much easier. Plus, by being a little more flexible, your arteries will suffer less wear and tear.

Health and fitness is a lifelong commitment, a fact that sometimes make people hesitant to begin enrollment. But, when results such as those mentioned above occur within as little as two months, it seems like people should be lining up around the door to join.

Make a healthy diet and a sound exercise program part of your New Year's resolution. Your heart will thank you for it.

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I love hot showers -- probably a little hotter than is good for me actually. I don't know that I have taken an actual cold shower ever, although often in the summer months I'll take what I'd call "cool" ones. But aside from all the jokes that guys make about 'needing a cold shower,' have you ever thought of taking one for your health? Or how about instead of a cold shower a cold foot soak? This interesting article over at Natural Health suggests that alternating cold and warm foot soaks is like a mini strength-training session for your insides. The cold water (around 70º) constricts and tightens vessels, while the warm water (around 100º) loosens and expands them. Asking them to adjust quickly makes them stronger.

I'm guessing alternating cool and warm showers would do the same thing, but obviously that's not so easy. So are you buying this? The science seems sound enough to me, but then it also strikes me as more than a little unnatural.

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You've heard of the real age vs. biological age debate, right? Well, you're heart has a biological age that might not be outwardly evident. How do you figure out how your heart is faring in this aging process? Get a heart scan, according to this article from Prevention.

A heart scan can reveal how much calcium has accumulated in your arteries, and in turn, it can gauge your risk for a heart attack. It's particularly important for men over 40 and women over 50 to get a heart scan done -- talk to your doctor and find out how old your arteries are.

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Cholesterol basically gums up the arteries and causes blood flow problems to occur should you have too much of the "LDL" kind of cholesterol in your system.

New research shows that higher-than-normal cholesterol levels happen because cholesterol causes a decline in the activity of a chemical called transforming growth factor, aka TGF. Now, that's not a sci-fi line form a movie.

TGF may now be a research area with growth potential since it was found that cholesterol was found to weaken the response of TGF. Oddly, statin drugs increased the activity of TGF while lowering the amount of cholesterol.

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Are you familiar with peripheral arterial disease (PAD)? I must admit, I was unaware of what it was, and 75 percent of the adult population in the U.S. is apparently in the same boat.

PAD is a very common blockage of blood vessels in the legs that boosts heart risk. It's estimated that 8 million Americans are affected with PAD, but most of the country has no idea it exists. Sounds like a matter of education to me. Artery blockages anywhere in the body is something patients need to know about. Well, let's just say citizens and include everyone.

PAD happens when the arteries in the legs are blocked with fatty deposits, much like what happens quite often in heart disease. The problem here is that the heart doesn't have an issue - the leg does, and amputation can even result in some cases.

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There's a common misconception that fat is the source of all nutritional woes. eDiets has set the record straight by asserting that fat does not instantly become converted to fat, nor does it automatically coat the inside of your arteries. Fat even has important nutrients, like Omega-3s, so it's important to incorporate some healthy fats, like olive oil, into your diet.

This isn't a green light to go fat-crazy and consume all the fatty foods you can find, however. Some fats -- trans fats and saturated fats -- should never be consumed, and the healthy fats should be consumed in moderation, because they're still high in calories.

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Biomedicine continues to advance at what I would call a blistering rate these days. In fact, it seems more health conditions due to processed foods and a lack of exercise are almost "created" just so more solutions can be "invented" to "cure" all these conditions. Ahh, call it the current economic need for prosperous growth.

Is health care turning to synthetic solutions to help fix conditions that plague millions of U.S. (and global) citizens these days? You bet -- although I'm quite sure the bionic adventures of Lee Majors are quite a ways off. Or are they?

It looks like the latest advance is in the area of "artificial blood vessels" that have been designed to help heart and kidney disease patients. As more and more heart and kidney disease occurs in the future, the demand for traditional vessel grafts may outstrip supply. That, in turn, ripens the field for artificial solutions. Now, where did I place that Titanium heart yesterday?

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