School of Medicine in Baltimore fed 20 non-smoking subjects three breakfasts: A high-fat meal containing 900 calories and 50 grams of fat, a low-fat meal with the same number of calories but no fat, and a high-fat meal preceded by oral doses of 1 gram of vitamin C and 800 International Units of vitamin E. The blood flow in the subjects' arteries was found to slow after the first high-fat meal, while remaining normal after both the low-fat meal and the high-fat meal preceded by vitamins. A high-cholesterol diet has been found to lead to hardening of the arteries and heart disease. The researchers said harmful low-densi- ty cholesterol coursing through the blood increases the production of damaging free radicals by the blood cells and deactivates nitric oxide, leading to slower blood flow and clogged arteries. Antioxidant reinforcements supplied by the vitamins blocked the damaging process, but the researchers said that did not mean that people sitting down to a high-fat meal can merely take a few vitamins to quell fat concerns.