How Red Meat Damage Heart - If you want to avoid heart disease and stroke, experts advise to avoid the consumption of red meat. But the newly revealed how the mechanisms of red meat harmful to health.
The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine suggests that carnitine compounds in red meat will be destroyed by the bacteria in the digestive tract. Destruction of these compounds will produce cholesterol levels higher body thereby increasing the risk of heart disease.
Had been a lot of research that says that consuming red meat on a regular basis can damage heart health because of the high saturated fat content. Dangers of saturated fats and processed meats have long been known to have adverse effects, but not only these causing red meat is harmful to health.
"The content of cholesterol and saturated fat in red meat is not the only danger, still there are other things that contribute to increased cardiovascular risk,"said lead researcher Dr. Stanley Hazen, of Claveland Clinic.
Experiments conducted in mice and humans showed that bacteria in the digestive system can break down carnitine. Carnitine is broken down into gas converted in the liver into a chemical compound called TMAO. In this study, TMAO strongly associated with the accumulation of fat in the blood vessels. So can lead to heart disease and death.
Hazen said TMAO commonly ignored because it may be a waste product of metabolism. "But can significantly affect cholesterol metabolism and accumulation," he said.
This research concludes that reducing the frequency of eating red meat is highly recommended. In addition this study also emphasize the use of probiotic yogurt to change the balance of bacteria in the digestive system.
"Reducing the number of bacteria that break carnitine in theory be also reduce the dangers of red meat,"said Hazen.
People who do not eat red meat or vegetarian has a number of bacteria breaking carnitine less than meat eaters.
Although red meat is a source of protein and some good nutrients, but should not be eaten too much. UK government recommends consumption of red meat no more than 70 grams per day.
