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 That’s because bacteria in the intestines interact with choline to
produce a compound that encourages platelets to clump together and
form clots.
Choline is found in a variety of foods including meat, eggs and
milk. It’s what’s known as an essential nutrient, which means the
body can’t make enough choline on its own and so it must be provided
in food.
But “unless prescribed by your doctor, avoid supplements with
choline,” said senior study researcher Dr. Stanley L. Hazen of the
Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, in a statement.
Hazen and colleagues had previously shown that bacteria in the
intestines interact with choline and other dietary nutrients to
produce a substance called TMAO, and they linked high levels of TMAO
in the blood to an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Also, in studies in animals, they linked higher levels of TMAO to a
higher risk for blood clots.
Their latest research, reported in the American Heart Association’s
journal Circulation, shows that choline in food can affect blood
clotting risk in humans, and in some cases, that risk can be
minimized by taking low-dose aspirin.
In the current study, they gave oral choline supplements to 18
volunteers and then measured TMAO levels, along with the responses
of platelets, tiny particles involved in clotting.
After taking the supplements for up to two months, participants had
more than 10-fold increases in blood levels of TMAO. The tendency of
their platelets to clump together and form clots was also
significantly increased, in direct proportion to the increases in
TMAO levels.
Aspirin, which reduces the stickiness of platelets, reduced both the
increases in TMAO and the increases in platelet clotting associated
with choline, but it didn't completely eliminate them, the
researchers found.
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The findings are of particular concern in people at high
cardiovascular risk, whose increased risk of blood clots may not be
overcome by low-dose aspirin. The researchers recommend further
study.
They also say it's worth exploring whether low-dose aspirin is
beneficial in otherwise healthy people with high TMAO in the blood –
although at this point, they can’t explain why the aspirin seemed to
bring down TMAO levels.
Dr. Herbert Tilg from Medical University Innsbruck, Austria, who has
studied the link between gut microbes and blood clots, told Reuters
Health by email, “This and earlier studies show that we now
definitely have to consider dietary aspects in this context, i.e.,
diet drives thrombosis risk.”
“These associations are totally new and unexpected: a link between
diet - gut microbiota - and thromboembolic events,” he said.
“They are extremely relevant for the public and in medicine,” given
that clots are “very, very common” and can be fatal, he said.
Tilg added that “preventive strategies are needed, and probably
aspirin is not sufficient. This needs further studies.”
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1q3uqj1 Circulation, online April 24, 2017.
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