The study, published Aug. 13 in Science, suggests that consuming food rich in saturated fat and choline – a nutrient found in red meat, eggs and dairy products – increases the number of metabolites that build plaques in the arteries. It also points to a possible drug that can block the effects of the high-fat diet on the gut and the arteries.
“Our study shows how a high-fat diet disrupts the bacterial balance in the gut and leads to the production of harmful substances implicated in cardiovascular diseases,” said Andreas Bäumler, professor of medical microbiology and immunology at UC Davis Health and co-lead author on the study.