Further Experiences with Blood Coagulation after Fat Meals and Carbohydrate Meals

There have been conflicting reports as to whether the ingestion of fat increases the tendency for the blood to clot, and hence, by implication, the risk of thromboembolic complications in man. In this study the effect of a single meal containing a large amount of fat was compared with that of a practically purely carbohydrate isocaloric meal. Under carefully controlled conditions the clotting time varied widely under fasting conditions, and after both fat and carbohydrate meals the clotting time became longer, shorter, or remain unchanged. The results were unpredictable and although a slight trend toward shortened clotting times was evidenced after the fat meals, the results did not reach accepted statistical standards of probability.