The Link Between Red Meat and Your Heart May Be in Your Gut
Experts have warned for years that a diet high in red meat raises the risk of heart disease, but exactly why has remained a topic of debate.Research has pinpointed a potential culprit that could make some people more susceptible to the cardiovascular effects of red meat — and it’s located in the gut.A study published August 1 in the American Heart Association (AHA) journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology zeroed in on a metabolite called trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), and the discovery may one day debunk what researchers have believed for decades about how red meat increases the risk of heart disease.According to the study’s lead coauthor, Meng Wang, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in Somerville, Massachusetts, TMAO has been…