Red Meat Consumption Increases Heart Disease-linked Chemical

Frequent consumption of red meat was linked with an increase in trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), a chemical associated with heart disease, new study results from the European Journal of Cardiology suggested.  

Researchers included 113 volunteers in the randomized 2-arm crossover study. The they evaluated three 4-week isocaloric diets, examining the effects of red meat, white mean, and non-meat protein on TMAO metabolism. TMAO and other trimethylamine (TMA)-related antibodies were quantified at the end of each diet period. 

Watch this video about European Heart Journal paper @OxfordJournals showing how #diet of #red #meat increases #TMAO levels, which is linked to range of #heart & #bloodvessel problems. Research paper is free access: https://t.co/kDONJXxpYX https://t.co/uTkC9aZ53O

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The results suggested that red mean ingestion, but not white meat (or non-meat ingestion) was associated with a more than two-fold increase in plasma and urine TMAO (P<0.0001 for both comparisons). Red meat ingestion was also associated with significantly reduced fractional renal excretion of TMAO (P<0.05). An oral isotope challenge indicated that red or white meat increased TMA and TMAO production from carnitine (P<0.05 for both comparisons), but not for choline.  

Impact of chronic dietary red meat, white meat, or non-meat protein on trimethylamine N-oxide metabolism and renal excretion in healthy men and women https://t.co/Cevvx3iTWs via European Heart Journal @OUPAcademic pic.twitter.com/c2g4rbloOu

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The dietary effects were also shown to be reversible, with TMAO levels decreasing significantly when volunteers switched to white meat consumption or non-meat consumption in their diets. 

“This study shows for the first time what a dramatic effect changing your diet has on levels of TMAO, which is increasingly linked to heart disease,” said Stanley L. Hazen, MD, PhD, senior study author and section head of Preventive Cardiology & Rehabilitation at the Cleveland Clinic, said in a press release. “It suggests that you can lower your heart disease risk by lowering TMAO.”  

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Current recommendations for heart-healthy diets were compatible with the study results, according to Charlotte Pratt, PhD, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) project officer for the study and Deputy Chief of the Clinical Applications & Prevention Branch in the Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, NHLBI. 

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“These findings reinforce current dietary recommendations that encourage all ages to follow a heart-healthy eating plan that limits red meat,” Pratt said in a press release.  “This means eating a variety of foods, including more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low-fat dairy foods, and plant-based protein sources such as beans and peas.”  

Source: European Heart Journal