Cardiovascular disease is one of the most dreaded chronic diseases with 1/3 rd of the total global deaths attributed to heart diseases.
We are told to eat healthier & exercise daily to maintain a healthy heart. Cereal boxes & other so called healthy food boxes available in market are plastered with “ heart healthy” seals & claim to decrease your cholesterol level.
However in spite of modern medicine, healthcare systems & such self proclaimed healthy food options, the number of people dying of heart diseases is increasing year on year. Clearly eating so-called healthy foods & exercise is not helping overcome this disease! What is the reason?
The point is we have been misguided by current healthcare practitioners. If our blood test shows high cholesterol, we are told to eat healthy to reduce our cholesterol &/or take statin drugs to make your body not produce cholesterol.
The question arises: what is healthy? A food which is healthy for you may be poison for your friend, colleague or your spouse. This is an obscure solution given by doctors today. In hope of reducing cholesterol we end up avoiding foods that actually help in improving our overall health.
There has been growing evidence that points out a strong connection between gut microbiome & heart health. In fact, time has come now when we can actually take a stool swab to evaluate the activity of microbiome that could reasonably predict risk of heart diseases. Question also arises if gastrointestinal issues can be a reason for deteriorating heart health? A little Bloating & constipation here & there is not a big issue but if it goes unaddressed or if it is covered up through OTC counters), it can create havoc on your heart health.
Let us decode how imbalance in our gut microbiome can lead to heart issues!
There are three major reasons how gut microbiome can lead to heart diseases
- Microbes in our gut are supposed to stay in the large intestine only. The moment it migrates to the small intestine (also referred to as small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), it can pose problems in our heart health. Primary risk factors related to degraded heart health include high blood pressure, cholesterol & smoking. Around 25% of the global adult population suffer from heartburn & SIBO at least once a month. Risk of attracting heart disease is really high among people already suffering from gastrointestinal issues! Vice Versa is also true. In fact, people suffering from SIBO have an 80% higher risk of attracting heart diseases. How can SIBO increase chances of heart diseases? SIBO is associated with deep vein thrombosis which happens when a blood clot is formed in one of the deeper veins. This occurs due to inflammation caused by release of lipopolysaccharides(LPS). LPS is endotoxin( toxin present in a bacterial cell) that is found in the outer membrane of gram negative bacteria which can cause inflammatory response throughout the body if it leaves the gut.
The composition & function of microbiome & specific metabolites released by microbes when they digest the food we eat has been linked with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases
2. High level of trimethylamine N-oxide(TMAO): When we eat food high in choline & L-carnitine such as eggs, poultry, red meat & even Broccoli, some specific microbes in our gut release enzymes that metabolises these foods to release trimethylamine(TMA). TMA is absorbed by our liver & is converted into TMAO & released into the bloodstream. This TMAO leads to plague development in arteries & increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. High circulatory levels of TMAO lead to overgrowth of bacteria that feeds on these high choline foods & as result demand more of such foods leading to release of more TMAO & this goes on.
3. Leaky gut: Intestinal permeability or disruption in gut lining is the third reason which can explain how our gut microbiome can lead to increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. Leaky gut or intestinal permeability allows bacteria & food particles to enter the bloodstream & cause inflammation. This leads to release of LPS in the blood. When large amount of LPS is released into the blood, it results in systemic inflammation which causes metabolic endotoxemia.
High level of metabolic endotoxemia increases the serum level of LPS 2 to 3 times of normal amount. This increased LPS level has been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases & mortality rate. Another interesting part is there are some bacteria which are found in arteries that cause heart disease. This generally happens when we have a leaky gut & bacteria migrates from large intestine through bloodstream to artery walls causing inflammation.
Depending upon what our gut is releasing it is metabolising the food we eat, our gut microbiome can actually be beneficial for our health. If our gut is balanced & we are feeding our microbes what they are hungry for based on our unique biology, these microbes can release short chain fatty acids such as Butyrate to protect the heart. Therefore if you are having high blood pressure & /or high cholesterol you can regulate it through balancing your gut microbiome.
If you are experiencing high cholesterol or high blood pressure, probably imbalance in your gut microbiome is playing the spoil sport. Rather than going to the doctor & adopting fad diets (so called healthy diets) and/or drugs such as statin, discover your unique biology to learn what foods can increase release of butyrate, prevent SIBO, reduce release of TMAO & overcome situations of leaky gut. For more details, give us a shout here.
Sources: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5193062/
https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/healthy-gut-healthy-heart
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29110161/https://consultqd.clevelandclinic.org/researchers-discover-gut-heart-connection-in-coronary-artery-disease/
