Red Meat Bad for Heart Failure?

A compound released by gut microbes as they digest red meat appears linked to heart failure (HF) and its prognosis, a study showed. The gut has been implicated in HF for years, although the original hypothesis was that intestinal edema and ischemia allowed things to leak into the system that cause inflammation. TMAO, while generated by gut microbes, ultimately comes from foods containing L-carnitine (such as red meat) or phosphatidylcholine (lecithin) -- the main dietary source of choline (found in eggs), Cannon and McMurray noted. A diet that cuts down on such foods "would essentially be the Mediterranean diet," Hazen told MedPage Today, although "following a heart-healthy diet that's low in cholesterol, low in saturated fat, will achieve the same end in terms of lowering the phosphatidylcholine and the carnitine intake as well." http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/CHF/48277?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2014-10-29&utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DailyHeadlines&utm_source=ST&eun=g721819d0r&userid=721819&email=amydugan2%40gmail.com&mu_id=5883165&utm_term=Daily