4. Discussion
The key findings of this study were that (1) the FMD response was higher after the HFB compared to the LFB intervention; (2) PWV was not different between the HFB and LFB interventions; and (3) SBP and DBP were reduced during the HFB intervention. At entry, participants were below the referenced FMD cutoffs for normal endothelial function [To our knowledge, this is the first study to assess the vascular outcomes of consuming high-fat vs. low-fat ground beef. Thus, direct comparisons to existing literature are not possible. However, others have examined vascular responses to diets high in fat compared to diets high in CHO [Contrary to the above findings [Consistent with the findings of other authors [Likewise, the available literature corroborates our observed reduction in BP during the HFB intervention as a result of increased MUFA intake [This study utilized participants recruited to test the effects of LFB and HFB on lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations and lipoprotein particle abundance [We did not measure the protein content of our ground beef preparations, but the calculated values of protein for LFB and HFB were 23.7 and 18.1 g/113 g patty, respectively (Our laboratory has focused on the effects of ground beef fatty acids on lipoprotein cholesterol metabolism [This study is not without limitations. Resulting from a limited staff, participant scheduling was based on availability. While all testing visits took place during the fifth week of the intervention or fourth week of the washout period, the specific day of the week may have been different within and between participants for each intervention. Total funding from the funding agency was sufficient to cover expenses for approximately 30 individuals. Data from previous trials in our laboratory [