The Use Of Red Meat Can Lead To Atherosclerosis. Part 2 of 3

Even after consuming a extensive amount of carnitine, vegans and vegetarians did not produce significant levels of TMAO, while omnivores did, according to the study in the current issue of the journal Nature Medicine. Although the new study could not prove any cause-and-effect relation between carnitine and heart damage, the findings may provide a new understanding of the benefits of vegan and vegetarian diets, the researchers said.

Vegans and vegetarians have a significantly reduced capacity to synthesize TMAO from carnitine, which may spell out the cardiovascular health benefits of these diets,” said Hazen, who is also vice chair of translational research for the clinic’s Lerner Research Institute. Two heart disease experts said the library yields up important new insights. According to Dr Robert Rosenson, it appears that poor eating habits could raise TMAO levels and “increase the ability of the cholesterol to get into our arteries and block with the ability of our body to eliminate that excess cholesterol”.

Rosenson, director of cardiometabolic disorders at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York City, said the study “sheds critical new information on the association between diet, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular events”. Another expert pointed the finger specifically at red meat and energy drinks. “Most Americans have heard the venerable saying ‘you are what you eat,'” said Dr Tara Narula, associate director of the Cardiac Care Unit at Lenox Hill Hospital, New York City.

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