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New theory implicating red meat in risk for atherosclerosis involves carnitine, intestinal bacteria, and TMAO. |
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Forbes: Led by Stanley Hazen, researchers at the Cleveland Clinic and elsewhere found that digestive tract bacteria metabolize carnitine into trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), which has previously been linked to atherosclerosis in mice, though the exact mechanism is still unknown. The researchers found that these bacteria were able to flourish, and produce large amounts of TMAO, only in an environment of a carnitine-rich diet.
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