Research has always shown an association between eating red meat and cardiovascular diseases for many decades. Red meats such as beef, pork, veal, and lamb are bad for heart health, which is why the American Heart Association has been encouraging the public to limit red meat intake.
Also, more heart health experts have recommended eating the Mediterranean diet instead because it allows little to no red meat. The diet mainly consists of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, seafood, beans, and nuts.
Red Meat Lovers Could Increase Their Risk of Developing Heart Disease, Here's Why
Why is Red Meat Associated With Cardiovascular Diseases?
Cleveland Clinic's Co-Section Head of Preventive Cardiology, Dr. Stanley Hazen, told the institution's official publication in an interview that innumerable studies looked at hundreds of thousands of patients' records and found a connection between eating red meat and getting the cardiovascular disease or dying from heart-related disorder. So far, these studies have been consistent in their findings.
But how exactly it causes heart disease has always been a subject of debate among heart experts. Dr. Hazen said that there are multiple reasons, and among them is probably the high cholesterol and saturated fat content in red meat. On the other hand, he said there must be other mechanisms since its ill effects are not enough to explain excess risks linked to red meat-eaters consumption.
How Does Red Meat Harm the Heart?
Another reason red meat could potentially harm the heart is because of its choline, carnitine, and other nutrient contents. In Dr. Hazen's new study, titled "The Microbial gbu Gene Cluster Links Cardiovascular Disease Risk Associated With Red Meat Consumption to Microbiota L-Carnitine Catabolism," published in Nature Microbiology, they found that gut bacteria grind these nutrients and generate trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO).
Dr. Hazden said that people who eat red meat as their primary source of protein, which accounts for 25% of their daily calories, have a two- to a three-fold increase in TMAO. The more red meat they eat, the higher their TMAO levels, and the higher TMAO levels mean the higher risk they have for hardened arteries, myocardial infarction, and stroke.
Health Day added that the traditional suspect was saturated fat, which is found in most animals products because it can boost "bad" LDL cholesterol that contributes to heart diseases. But Dr. Hazen said that other factors, such as genetics and environmental conditions or a combination of both, could also play a part.
What Do Experts Recommend?
As a strong advocate of a healthy diet, Dr. Hazen said that changing the diet also changes the "soil" that feeds gut microbes. He believes a change in the diet rather than adding new microbes via probiotic supplements is better.
It was supported by nutrition and dietetics expert Lauri Wright from the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, who said that good health "still goes back to food." Wright, a spokesperson for the Academy for Nutrition and Dietetics, said that there is still much to learn about gut bacteria, but diets rich in vegetables, fruits, and high-fiber help feed the good bacteria to improve general health.
The American Heart Health Association has also recommended having a plant-based diet and choosing healthy sources of protein, such as fish, seafood, lean and unprocessed meat.
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