Turns out red meat is double trouble

When 7-foot-tall Chicago Bulls power forward Lauri Markkanen wanted to do something about climate change, he launched a campaign called #DontChoke that asks people to take simple steps to decrease their carbon footprint. His choice: Give up red meat.

Good move: A 2014 study revealed that producing beef requires 28 times more land, six times more fertilizer and 11 times more water than eggs, poultry or dairy – and it creates about five times more greenhouse gas emissions.

But Lauri didn’t know how much he’d be improving his internal environment, too!

A study by Cleveland Clinic researchers shows that the main problem with red meat is not just its saturated fat.

It seems that when nutrients in red meat encounter your gut bacteria, it changes those buggers to produce a waste chemical called TMA (trimethylamine) that is then turned into TMAO (trimethylamine N-oxide) by your liver.

The researchers found that red meat eaters have triple the levels of TMAO as those who eat a diet rich in white meats or plant-based proteins (think beans and nuts), and elevated levels are a serious risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Fortunately, giving up red meat lowers TMAO levels within two weeks, and it helps you dodge the damage TMAOs cause.

“This study shows ... what a dramatic effect changing your diet has on levels of TMAO ...,” said Dr. Stanley L. Hazen. “It suggests that you can lower your heart disease risk by lowering TMAO.”

So go for the twofer: Clean up your internal environment, and the world’s, too.