Foods come in and out of favor all the time. Eggs are good for you… no wait, they are bad… nope, good again – let’s not even discuss butter! There are many disease correlations related to specific foods and literature continues to evolve. One such focus is on red meat and its correlation to cardiovascular disease.  But why? Is all red meat bad? Can you eat red meat and not increase heart disease risk? What about it should cause concern? Interestingly, the answer lies in the microbiome’s ability to metabolize the carnitine in red meat into a metabolite called trimethylamine (TMA). What happens from there is the key!  But be warned, there is more to TMA than red meat and carnitine.

Today we discuss TMA and how it becomes a cardiovascular risk factor (TMAO). We tell you about TMA’s many sources - besides red meat - and why you should care.

Today on The Lab Report:

• 2:10 Food controversies
• 3:50 Break it Down: Trimethylamine (TMA) and trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO)
• 6:40 TMAO, carnitine, and choline
• 10:00 Wait, which foods are actually the problem?
• 13:50 Red meat, TMAO, and cardiovascular risk
• 18:40 Dietary microbiome changes
• 20:05 Question of the Day:
  • Which Genova profiles can help?

Additional Resources:

NutrEval

Cardio Check

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