I recently read this article and I was intrigued about how nutrients in red meat can affect the risk of you developing atherosclerosis.
Various experiments have been undertaken involving mice to investigate further into what nutrients present in red meat have an effect on atherosclerosis. The team of scientists from Cleveland Clinic Learner Research institute in Ohio fed the mice a diet high in carnitine which is a substance found in red meat. They found that whilst feeding the mice this diet the incidences of atherosclerosis increased, however, to compare their results they also fed mice with supressed gut flora the exact same diet and found that there was no increase in atherosclerosis. Based on previous knowledge we already know that certain bacteria in the intestine use the substance carnitine as an energy source, and when broken down, a waste product known as trimethylamine (TMA) is produced. This TMA is then converted at the liver into TMAO, which is the substance that brings about this increased risk of atherosclerosis. From the mice experiment, they found that a carnitine-rich diet boosted certain bacteria types and as a result it increased the level of TMAO. It is this TMAO that increases the uptake of cholesterol likely to build-up and cause plaques and the TMAO will also prevent the cholesterol from being broken down by macrophages. Therefore this can lead to atherosclerosis developing. To back this evidence up, a series of further tests underwent only to find that meat-eaters produced higher levels of TMAO than vegetarians after they were both fed carnitine, which suggests that those meat-eaters, who eat meat on a regular basis, had more bacteria which produce TMA in the intestine. QUICK SUMMARY - These experiments suggest that eating red meat regularly could affect our arteries leading to an increased risk of developing atherosclerosis. Red meat contains carnitine which boosts the number of bacteria which use carnitine to produce energy. These specific bacteria produce TMA as a waste product when breaking the carnitine down, which will be converted into TMAO in the liver. It is this TMAO which is linked to an increased risk of development of atherosclerosis. https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23352-red-meat-boosts-gut-bugs-that-raise-heart-disease-risk/
1 Comment
Mr Lovat
3/1/2016 01:48:41 am
You've understood the article really well and summarised it very clearly. I like the way you've clearly engaged in the subject and communicated the conclusion very well. How would you evaluate the claim that red meat causes atherosclerosis? What further work might be done to investigate this further?
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Ciara Branagan
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