Paleo Diet Linked to High Levels of Harmful Gut Bacteria

[Swordsmyth]

People who follow the Paleo diet often do so for health reasons, eschewing many carbs, especially grains, in favor of lean meats and vegetables. Now, research indicates that this “caveman” style of eating may have hidden dangers to your heart health.

The Paleo diet, which draws nutritional guidelines from the diets of our human ancestors, advocates eating like a hunter and gatherer—consuming lots of meat, vegetables, nuts, and some fruits—while excluding agriculturally-based foods such as grains, legumes, and dairy, along with refined sugar and processed oils.
Though no one would argue the nutritional merits of vegetables and lean protein, pulling whole grains out of the diet may have some harmful hidden consequences with regard to the gut microbiome and how it affects cardiovascular health, according to a new study published in the European Journal of Nutrition.
Researchers from Edith Cowan University in Perth, Western Australia, compared the gut microbiomes and levels of trimethylamine-n-oxide (TMAO)—a key blood biomarker strongly associated with heart disease—of 44 people who followed the Paleo diet for at least one year with a similar group of 47 people who followed the recommended Australian diet that includes whole grains.
They discovered that those who ate Paleo had levels of TMAO twice as high as their non-Paleo eating peers.
The reason? A lack of whole grains in the Paleo diet, lead researcher Angela Genoni, Ph.D., said in a press release.
“We found the lack of whole grains were associated with TMAO levels, which may provide a link between the reduced risks of cardiovascular disease we see in populations with high intakes of whole grains,” she said in the release.

The researchers also found higher concentrations of the bacteria that produce TMAO in the Paleo diet follower’s microbiome. Consuming whole grains may downregulate, or suppress, the species of bacteria that produce TMAO in the bowel, Genoni told Bicycling.

More at: https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a28686493/paleo-diet-gut-health-study/

 

[dannno]

First red meat was bad because of cholesterol.

Then it was saturated fat.

When that evidence fell apart, red meat haters found a new reason not to eat it: TMAO.

Trimethylamine N-oxide, or TMAO, is a compound that has been associated with a higher risk of heart disease. (Note the emphasis on “associated.” No research has yet proven that TMAO causes heart disease.)

Here’s a typical explanation for how TMAO in red meat contributes to heart disease, pulled from the Cleveland Clinic website:

Here’s how it works: When people ingest certain nutrients, such as choline (abundant in red meat, egg yolks, and dairy products) and L-carnitine (found in red meat as well as some energy drinks and supplements), the gut bacteria that break it down produce a compound called trimethylamine (TMA). The liver then converts TMA into the compound trimethylene N-oxide (TMAO).

The trouble with TMAO is that data show high levels contribute to a heightened risk for clot-related events such as heart attack and stroke—even after researchers take into account the presence of conventional risk factors and markers of inflammation that might skew the results.

There’s just one problem with this story.

Red meat and eggs are minuscule sources of TMAO in the diet. I wrote about this several years ago. If you look at a chart of TMAO sources in the diet, red meat and eggs are barely even visible.

So what is the biggest dietary source of TMAO? Seafood!

And countless studies show that seafood consumption is inversely associated with heart disease. In other words, those that eat the greatest amount of seafood have the lowest levels of heart disease.

How could this be if TMAO is bad for our heart?

That’s a question none of the advocates of the red meat–TMAO hypothesis have answered.

A new study just published adds even more doubt to the TMAO hypothesis. Researchers found that high levels of TMAO may reduce hypertension-related heart disease symptoms.

Yes, you read that correctly.

And check out this gem, from the Science Daily article summarizing the paper:

It was previously thought that TMAO blood plasma levels—and heart disease risk—rise after the consumption of red meat and eggs. However, “it seems that a fish-rich and vegetarian diet, which is beneficial or at least neutral for cardiovascular risk, is associated with a significantly higher plasma TMAO than red meat- and egg-rich diets, which are considered to increase the cardiovascular risk.”

Here’s what we can take away from this:

1. Red meat and eggs won’t increase your TMAO levels—but seafood will!
2. TMAO may be good for you.

This should be a cautionary tale for putting too much weight on mechanistic studies and on agenda-driven science that sets out with a goal (to prove red meat is bad).
In health,
Chris
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[TD="class: c2"]Chris Kresser <[email protected]>[/TD]
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[TD="class: gH bAk"]Dec 27, 2018[/TD]
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[Swordsmyth]

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Meat isn't the problem.
It's the lack of whole grains.

Balance.

 

[heavenlyboy34]

Meat isn't the problem.
It's the lack of whole grains.

Balance.

*most* grains are empty calories that are converted into sugars during digestion. #howcarbohydrateswork I don't know of any micro or macro nutrients in grains you can't get from veggies/fruits/legumes/nuts in a healthier form.

 

[Ender]

Paleo diets are perfect for Blood Type O.

Saved my life.