Prevention of arousal-induced hyperlipidemia by glucose ingestion

Thirteen subjects were investigated to compare the effects of pre-event glucose (G) and placebo (P) ingestion on plasma free fatty acid (FFA) concentration during mental work. Subjects performed two trials of a videogame and received money for each point scored. Thirty minutes before commencing each trial, subjects ingested either a solution containing 50 g of G or an identically sweetened and colored placebo. Order of ingestion was partially counterbalanced. Heart rate, the measure of arousal monitored, increased significantly above baseline during each trial, but there was no difference in this rise between trials. The main finding from this experiment was that after ingesting glucose, subjects had a stable blood FFA concentration during the videogame, while after the ingestion of placebo subjects had a significantly higher blood FFA during videogames than they had at baseline. These data suggest that arousal-induced hyperlipidemia can be prevented by pre-event glucose ingestion.