Most of you might not even have heard of TMAO before, but unfortunately it’s one of our many enemies as far as our heart, immune system, gut and overall health is concerned.
Basically, TMAO (Trimethylamine N-oxide) is a substance produced during digestion and metabolism and when it is found in high blood levels, it’s linked to a higher risk for cardiovascular diseases, heart failure, kidney disease and premature death from any cause (1, 2), no matter what your age or your current health condition is. In short, TMAO means trouble.
So how does this threatening substance rise in our body? As in most cases, what you eat is what you get, as TMAO is highly connected with the consumption of red meat and eggs (3, 4). More specifically, L- carnitine, a trimethylamine which is found in abundance in red meat seems to be producing TMAO and accelerating atherosclerosis in mice, while according to the research, those who eat meat produce more TMAO than vegans and vegetarians. At the same time, choline in eggs, meat, fish and poultry, seems to feed the bad bacteria in our gut, which in turn produce TMA (trimethylamine), a substance that is turned into TMAO by our liver.
Consumption of these foods alter gut microbiome and what you need to know is that the more meat, eggs, poultry you eat, the more TMAO your body produces. This occurs due to the fact that more and more bacteria that can metabolize meat are growing and things keep getting worse, as the production of TMAO from dietary phosphatidylcholine is dependent on metabolism by the gut microbiome. According to a publication in Journal of the American Heart Association from researches in Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, those who suffered from peripheral artery disease was found that they higher risk of mortality, if they consume big quantities of red meat and eggs, due to higher TMAO production in their system (5).
Those who go plant-based (vegan) diet seem to not have those bacteria that metabolize meat and produce TMAO, so they don’t appear to have TMAO levels in their system (6). To cut a long story short, no meat, no bacteria metabolizing meat, no TMAO. It is even shown that people who don’t eat meat, even if they do for a short period of time or once in a while, TMAO levels will not rise, because they have developed a plant-based ecosystem and thus a healthy gut microbiome that doesn’t promote the rise of this harmful substance.
It’s no wonder that the past years, Plant-based (vegan) diets are becoming gradually accepted by the scientific community as much healthier than western diet, with the vegan gut microbiome to be unique in several characteristics, having a reduced abundance of pathobionts and a greater abundance of protective species (7).
Talk to a health professional, a registered dietitian that can help you, especially in your first steps through this transition and be prepared to say goodbye to harmful TMAO and get it out of your system.
Resources
1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23614584/
2. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/red-meat-tmao-and-your-heart
3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25080455/
4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23563705/5. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.116.004237
6. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23778590/
7. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25365383/
