A new study finds that a previously unrecognized set of reactions mediated by microbes in the gut contributes to the development of heart disease. Those gut microbe reactions are triggered by carnitine, which is a nutrient found in red meat.
"So, what this does is it adds to the growing body of data reinforcing the connection between red meat and carnitine ingestion and heart disease development," explained Cleveland Clinic Physician Dr. Stanley Hazen, who co-authored the study.
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Hazen was part of a team of researchers who studied the effects of red meat on the cardiovascular system. A previous study linked carnitine to the development of narrowing or hardening of the arteries, also called atherosclerosis, but this latest research took it a step further. It uncovered a chain of reactions that is generated by microbes in the gut, but triggered by the carnitine in red meat. In essence, it's one of the reasons eating too much red meat is not good for you.
Hazen says the results also provide researchers with two critical pieces of information.
"What this does is bring us one step closer to figuring out why and how red meat ingestion is linked to heart disease, but it also brings us another step closer to developing drugs or tools to retard or block the development of heart disease by this pathway," Hazen explained.
Complete findings for the study can be found in the journal Cell Metabolism.