It's certainly not breaking news that your gluttonous red meat addiction is going to kill you. Up until now, science has generally believed that meats high in saturated fat and cholesterol increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and, by extension, an increased risk of stroke, heart attacks and death. But a group of scientists at the Cleveland Clinic's Lener Research Institute believe a compound called carnitine, and its reaction when ingested, may also be the culprit.
Carnitine, which is found in high quantities in meats like beef and pork—as well as in some energy and dietary supplements—is supposed to aid in the conversion of fatty acids into energy. But in the study released by Nature Medicine, researchers found that bacteria in the digestive tract of both humans and mice converted the carnitine into another substance called TMAO, which "promotes atherosclerosis, or a thickening of the arteries." The scientists tested TMAO levels in omnivores, vegetarians and vegans, then compared the results with 2,595 patients currently receiving cardiac evaluations. Their findings showed that in "patients with high TMAO levels, the more carnitine in their blood, the more likely they were to develop cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, stroke and death."
So should these new findings convince you to finally put down the Whopper? The study doesn't make red meat any more dangerous than it already was, but does better explain why a person who eats red meats more frequently is at greater risk for a heart attack. Vegans actually lose their ability to digest carnitine, suggesting that if a person were to cease eating red meat, their risk for TMAO-related heart attack would decrease correspondingly. Looks like vegans have one more reason to be smug.
[Nature Medicine via WSJ]
