[LifeStyle] Study Shows Red Meat Damages Arteries

[#Steeven.™]

Eating this type of food therefore increases the risk of heart disease in old age.

Researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder (United States) have shown that a compound produced in the intestine when eating red meat damages the arteries and, therefore, increases the risk of heart disease in old age.

The study, published in the journal 'Hypertension of the American Heart Association', suggests that people can prevent or even reverse such an age-related decline through dietary changes and targeted therapies, such as with supplements nutritional.

"Our work shows for the first time that this compound not only directly impairs artery function, but may also help explain the damage to the cardiovascular system that occurs naturally with age," the researchers explained.

By eating a piece of steak or a plate of scrambled eggs the resident gut bacteria immediately go to work to break it down. As they metabolize the amino acids L-carnitine and choline, they produce a metabolic by-product called trimethylamine, which the liver converts to trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) and sends it through the bloodstream.

Previous studies have shown that people with higher levels of TMAO in their blood are more than twice as likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke as well as die, although the reasons have not been known until now.

Given this scenario, the researchers measured the blood and arterial health of 101 older adults and 22 young adults, discovering they found that TMAO levels increase significantly with age. This coincides with a previous study in mice that shows that the intestinal microbiome changes with age, generating more bacteria that help to produce TMAO.

When the researchers fed TMAO directly to young mice, their blood vessels rapidly aged. And it is that, the 12-month-old mice (the human equivalent of about 35 years old) looked more like the 27-month-old mice (80 years old in people) after eating TMAO for several months.

Preliminary data also shows that mice with higher levels of TMAO exhibit declines in learning and memory, suggesting that the compound may also play a role in age-related cognitive decline.

On the other hand, old mice that ate a compound called dimethylbutanol (found in small amounts in olive oil, vinegar, and red wine) saw that their vascular dysfunction was reversing, so scientists believe this compound prevents the production of TMAO.

"The more red meat you eat, the more you feed the bacteria that produce it. The study is an important advance because it sheds light on why our arteries erode with age, even in the healthiest of people," the researchers said. experts.