Culprit in Heart Disease Goes Beyond Meat's Fat

A new red meat study from the Health section of the NYTimes.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/08/health/study-points-to-new-culprit-in-heart-disease.html?hp&_r=0

Thanks Rick. I found htis very interesting.
I wonder if we eat more fermented foods to change our gut bacteria/make-up would this prevent the production of TMAO?
Hope the researchers are checking this out?
Kate

This is a very interesting and thought provoking study. Vegetarians and Vegans have been talking for a long time about fiber's effect in the gut and how that affects the body. I would love to see a series of follow up studies. This is an exciting development in the scientific understanding of food and health.
John S
PDX OR

An article in today's NYT magazine adds complexity to the issue of gut bacteria, heart disease, and our health. Clearly, lots more research needs to be done!

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/magazine/say-hello-to-the-100-trillion-bacteria-that-make-up-your-microbiome.html?ref=todayspaper

Thanks for posting that-it's written by Michael Pollan!
Great article. Long though.
John S
PDX OR

or it's in the calcium

http://www.united-academics.org/magazine/health-medicine/calcium-causes-heart-disease/

Of course factory farmed meat cooked on a George Foreman grill is going to cause health problems. There is a TREMENDOUS difference between meat that has been raised in a CAFO and meat that has lived a happy life on pasture. They cannot even be considered the same thing; feeding an animal GMO grain, pumping it full of antibiotics and growth hormones, slaughtering it in a super stressful environment, leaving the meat to hang and become moldy (that's what happens when you age meat, it becomes tender because it is being broken down by fungus!) and then topping it all off by charring it to a crisp on a George Foreman grill...hmmm I wonder what could go wrong here??

Sorry to make all the vegetarians sad but this is simply more JUNK SCIENCE. There is no scientific evidence that says grass-fed meat is unhealthy for you.

Well presented and documented counter-arguments:

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

The Bulletproof Executive blog - http://www.bulletproofexec.com/the-red-meat-scapegoat-the-new-york-times-carnitine-heart-disease-and-science/

There is so much reductionist science that is funded by one lobby group or another that you'll get lost pretty quickly.

Just remember this: The foundation that most of these studies are based on is the lipid hypothesis:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipid_hypothesis

You should take particular note of the second word. Hypothesis is just that. It has never been proven, and is again a reductionist view that looks at a symptom and assumes that it's the root cause.

Lipids are fats. Fat is grease. What do we use grease for in machines? We use grease for two things. Lubrication and protection from oxidation.

Why do we need lubrication in mechanical things? Because parts are so tightly coupled together that they rub on each other when they move, causing friction. What is a biological analogy for this situation? Inflammation.

So we now have two biological situations where increased blood lipids are a natural and reasonable response by the body to protect itself.

Now lets look at the underlying starting points: oxidative stress and inflammation. In a biological system, these typically go hand in hand.

I could go on and on more than I already have... My point is that heart disease is a manifestation of a complex situation that probably starts when the body is lacking the necessary inputs to counter oxidative stress and facilitate smooth operations.

This will include a properly functioning digestive system, balanced and sufficient nutritional intake, introducing stress in ways that the body is designed to cope with and is necessary for optimal functioning (like exercise), reducing stress in ways that the body is not designed to cope with (like environmental pollutants), allowing your body time to relax and detox, and resolving emotional stresses due to inter-personal relationships, etc.

All chronic conditions in the body are manifestations of complex interrelated systems working out of harmony with each other. Heart disease is no different.

I find the article title misleading. Since I have not found any evidence in my research that animal fat causes heart deases. In fact; evidence suggests the exact opposite! Saturate fats are especially important for maintaining a healthy body, right down at the cellular level. Likewise is true of cholesterol.

Fats (which include oils), are needed to metabolize vitamins A D E K and some B. Which are needed to metabolize various minerals, such as calcium magnesium and some others.


I'll add that one of the biggest crimes commited against ourselves (besides eating factory farmed foods) is the adoption of high temperature cooking. This is then magnified by the lack of cultured foods in the diet. This causes the pancreas to work harder with each meal. The pancreas are like ovaries, in that, you are born with a storage bank. Once the panecratic bank has been emptied, you've got one foot in the grave.