Hungry? Make the Drive-Through Work for You

Sometimes, you need food fast. And when you can't tell whether that rumbling sound is coming from your stomach or the strips on the road, it's fine to hit the drive-through. Just pick the options that make you younger. Why pay for something that ages you? While one fatty meal may slip right past your hips, it will hit your blood pressure hard and fast, making your body's age older than your calendar age. Yes -- one single meal can create more havoc than a roomful of 2-year olds on Pop Tarts.

In one study, a group of healthy young women ate a fast-food breakfast loaded with saturated fat: two hash-brown patties, a sausage sandwich, and an egg sandwich. Another group had cereal, skim milk, fat-free yogurt, a fruit bar, and orange juice.

Two hours later, the experimenters stressed the women with math problems or public speaking. The result: The blood pressures of those in the fatty-food group went extra haywire. Not good, because an overreactive cardiovascular system is associated with problems, including persistent high blood pressure and heart disease. Blood pressure stayed in the normal range for those who didn't eat the aging breakfast.

How do saturated fats and their nasty cousins, trans fats, do their dirty work? They increase inflammation in your arteries, which promotes plaque buildup, and they increase lousy LDL cholesterol. Plus, they injure blood vessel walls (yes, that fast) so they can't expand (saturated fats act like reverse Viagra in blood vessels -- they keep them from getting larger). And when your blood vessels can't expand, they can't relieve the high blood pressure that stress causes.

Keep saturated and trans fats to less than 20 grams a day (trans fats should be close to zero). Do your arteries a favor: Look up nutritional information for fast foods and pick the healthiest new favorites before you get hungry on the road again.