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The Evening Meal and Atherosclerosis * †
Author(s) -
Roen Paul B.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1978.tb02404.x
Subject(s) - evening , medicine , arteriosclerosis , meal , appetite , cardiology , supper , stroke (engine) , indigestion , physiology , mechanical engineering , philosophy , physics , theology , astronomy , engineering
A trial by any means that can possibly prevent or retard the development of arteriosclerosis is to be recommended. Arteriosclerosis is the chief cause of strokes and heart attacks. The heavy evening meal now in vogue is characteristically rich in animal fats. Normal digestion is at its peak at about the seventh hour, usually during sleep, when the body economy is at its lowest ebb. A large amount of digested material with a high content of lipids is dumped into the slow‐moving circulation. As this material, full of saturated fats, moves slowly through the arteries, the situation is ideal for clot formation, possibly resulting in a stroke, a heart attack, or sudden death. Such a catastrophe can occur in almost anyone, but is more apt to strike the high‐powered executive or the apparently healthy man past 45 who has a voracious appetite. It seems logical to postulate that a light, rather than a heavy evening meal would result in less arteriosclerosis with complications such as heart attacks and strokes.