Research

Hormonal

Higher fasting serum TMAO levels are independently associated with increased carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), an early marker of atherosclerosis, even after adjusting for visceral fat mass, liver fat, and insulin resistance.

High TMAO levels are linked to early artery thickening, independent of your weight or insulin resistance. While you should monitor your intake of choline and carnitine, your metabolic health (how well your body handles insulin) also drives TMAO production. Focus on overall metabolic health, not just avoiding specific foods.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
higher TMAO associated with elevated cIMT, independently of these parameters (Table 3)... We provide novel information that increased serum TMAO levels associate with increased cIMT, independently of established cardiovascular risk markers, including insulin resistance, visceral obesity and fatty liver.
Elko Randrianarisoa et al. · Scientific Reports · 2016

Why this rating

Observational study with a relatively large sample size (n=220) and rigorous metabolic phenotyping, but lacks causal intervention on TMAO itself.

Source

Relationship of Serum Trimethylamine N-Oxide (TMAO) Levels with early Atherosclerosis in Humans

Elko Randrianarisoa et al. · Scientific Reports · 2016

DOI 10.1038/srep26745

cohort · n=220Cited 296×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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