Exacerbated Postprandial Oxidative Stress Induced by the Acute Intake of a Lipid Meal Compared to Isoenergetically Administered Carbohydrate,Protein, and Mixed Meals in Young,Healthy Men

Objective: To compare the oxidative stress response following isocaloric consumption of a lipid, carbohydrate, protein, and mixed meal.

Design: Ten young (27.3 ± 7.0 years), healthy (body mass index = 24.9 ± 4.0 kg·m^?2) men consumed isocaloric test meals on 4 separate days, separated by 1 week, in a random-order crossover design. Blood samples were collected premeal and at 1, 2, 4, and 6 hours postmeal and assayed for various markers of oxidative stress, as well as triglycerides (TAG) and glucose. Total area under the curve (AUC) was calculated for each variable, and a 4 × 5 analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to further analyze data.

Results: Significant meal effects were noted for hydrogen peroxide AUC (p = 0.004), with values higher for the lipid meal compared with all other meals (p < 0.05). Contrasts revealed greater AUC for TAG (p = 0.05), malondialdehyde (p = 0.002), and nitrate/nitrite (p = 0.02) for the lipid meal compared with the protein meal. With regard to the ANOVA, oxidative stress values were highest for the lipid meal and increased from 2–6 hours postmeal following lipid ingestion (p < 0.05). No other meals resulted in a significant increase in oxidative stress (p > 0.05).

Conclusions: These data indicate that when controlling for total dietary energy, a lipid meal results in the greatest increase in postprandial oxidative stress in a sample of young, healthy men.