# TMAU leads to heart attacks?



## thickthighs1 (Apr 12, 2013)

I saw something on the news this morning about TAMU..they said it is bacteria that digests food,and people who have a lot or not enough(don't remember which one) are likely to have heart attacks...anyone else see/hear this??
I do have a blood clotting issue..wonder if theres anything to it?

I was wrong its not TAMU its TMAO..but they are somewhat similar..the article is on cbsnews the morning one with Gayle King and Charlie rose..I didn't know hoe to send it to the board,so I didnt


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Carnatine is a compound in mammal meat (beef, pork, venison, etc).

People who eat mammal meat regularly (compared to vegetarians or people who eat only fish and chicken as meats) have more bacteria in the gut that convert Carnatine to TMAO. I think there is some similar chemistry to how Choline is converted to TMAU, but I don't know how similar or the details.

People who regularly eat red meat tend to have higher rates of hardening of the arteries (and the various diseases that is associated with).

It seems that when you have a lot of TMAO in the blood it changes the metabolism of cholesterol so it tends to deposit in the plaques that cause hardening of the arteries and slows down it being cleared from those deposits.

So if you have a history of heart disease in your family and eat red meat I wouldn't take Carnatine as a supplement as you probably have more than enough, and you may want to moderate your red meat consumption if you tend to eat it daily, but this is still very preliminary information.

No info if TMAU has the same effects as TMAO.

http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/topic/162092-interesting-side-note-on-the-recent-carnitine-heart-disease-regarding-odor/ is what I posted about it earlier right after hearing an in depth interview. Mostly because TMAO in large quantities can also have a strong odor. So maybe reducing red meat might be something to try if you tend to the smelly side of things.


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## thickthighs1 (Apr 12, 2013)

Thanks for clearing it up..i don't eat red meat at all and still smelled..probiotics have taken care of that so far


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## Moises (May 20, 2000)

Hazen's is a fascinating study with, as yet, virtually no application to human dietary choices.

Seafood and fish produce more TMAO than beef. Yet the recent Mediterranean Diet study, which was stopped short prematurely because the cardiac and mortality benefits were so overwhelming, specifically prescribed fish each week.

Yes, it's fascinating how different foods differentially affect the microbiome. I look forward to reading many future studies investigating these interrelations. But I would not limit beef, egg (an even more recent study from Hazen), or carnitine based on this research.

For an in-depth discussion of Hazen's findings see this article by Chris Masterjohn.

http://www.westonaprice.org/blogs/cmasterjohn/2013/04/10/does-carnitine-from-red-meat-contribute-to-heart-disease-through-intestinal-bacterial-metabolism-to-tmao/

Or, if Forbes is more to your liking:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryhusten/2013/04/12/is-red-meat-a-fish-story-why-you-should-never-believe-health-headlines/


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