Your Gut Flora and Hypertension
As you probably know, there is no known cause for hypertension seen in about 95% of people with hypertension. However, recent research animal model and clinical studies have shown that your gut could be regulating your blood pressure.
For example, there was a very interesting epic research study presented at the 2015 American Heart Association Scientific Conference. Researchers had found that our microbome influence hypertension by communicating with us through metabolites. For example, short chain fatty acids are a type of metabolite that is secreted from the gut, causing inflammation and hypertension.
We all are made up of ABOUT 10 TRILLION CELLS AND trillions of GOOD bacteria on our skin and everywhere in our bodies. Much of this good bacteria help us extract nutrients from our food and are important for our immune system. See the video below for details of a Helpful Study regarding how this works.
Probiotics and Blood Pressure
Research has also recently shown that People who take probiotics have lower blood pressure. Further, a low diversity of good bacteria allows over growth of the bad bacteria. More research needs to be done to guide us with what needs to be done to address to potentially decrease blood pressure.
Sugar and Probiotics
Sugar is food for the bad bacteria. It helps bad bacteria to grow and cause an imbalance of the bad bacteria in our gut. Returning your gut to its natural state of balance will improve blood pressure. This can be done with probiotics, but the exact regimen has not been elucidated according to research.
Ask you health care provider if probiotics are right for you!
Resources
Li, J., Zhao, F., Wang, Y., Chen, J., Tao, J., & Tian, G., et al. (2017). Gut microbiota dysbiosis contributes to the development of hypertension. Microbiome. Retrieved from https://microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s40168-016-0222-x
Raizada, M., Joe, B., Bryan, N., Chang, F., Dewhirst, F., & Borist, G., et al. (2017). Report of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Working Group on the role of microbiota in blood pressure regulation current status and future direction. Hypertension, 70, 479-485. Retrieved from https://microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40168-016-0222-x
