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.