Red Meat More Than Doubles Levels of Heart-Harming TMAO, Cleveland Clinic Trial Finds

Eating red meat every day more than doubles levels of TMAO, a gut-bacteria chemical linked to heart disease, compared with white meat or non-meat protein, a Cleveland Clinic trial has found. The good news: levels fell again within four weeks of stopping red meat.

Researchers led by Dr. Stanley Hazen, with Dr. Ron Krauss of Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, gave 113 healthy adults three diets in random order, each for four weeks, with all meals prepared in a metabolic kitchen and 25% of calories from protein. The study is published in the European Heart Journal and was largely funded by the US National Institutes of Health.

According to the Cleveland Clinic release, TMAO in the blood rose about three-fold on average during the red meat diet, and more than ten-fold in some people. Red meat also made the kidneys less efficient at clearing it. Saturated fat made no difference. Dr. Hazen said:

We know lifestyle factors are critical for cardiovascular health, and these findings build upon our previous research on TMAO's link with heart disease. They provide further evidence for how dietary interventions may be an effective treatment strategy to reduce TMAO levels and lower subsequent risk of heart disease.

Swapping red meat for beans, lentils and other plant proteins is a simple way to keep TMAO down.

It follows the NYU trial in which a vegan diet cut a key heart inflammation marker by 32%, and research linking meat protein to higher heart death risk.

Your heart (and your gut bugs) will thank you!