What’s Good for the Gut is Good for the Heart!! A Healthy Gut supports a Healthy Heart

Known as the second brain, your gut produces some of the same neurotransmitters as your brain. Neurotransmitters are responsible for communication between nerves and tissues throughout your body. The gut and brain also form a connection through the gut-brain axis that connect biochemical signals between the GI tract and your central nervous system.

  That’s the gut and the brain. But is there a connection between your gut and your heart? Turns out there’s quite a strong link from your gut to your heart!

  We know that our gut is home to quite a collection of microbes, in fact, it’s home to trillions with various roles from digestion to manufacture of certain nutrients, all of which have a major impact on your good health. The interaction between these microbes in our digestive system and our vascular, nervous, endocrine and immune systems all have an impact on cardiovascular health. And since what you eat can either help or hinder the function of these gut microbiota it’s important to know what to feed your gut for optimal health results.

When your gut breaks down food the gut microbiota create substances called metabolites. Trimethylamine or TMA is one metabolite that is formed when microbes break down the choline found in red meat, fish, poultry and eggs. In the liver, TMA is converted to TMAO a substance connected to helping in the formation of plaques in the arteries. Plaques that can cause blockages clogging the arteries, leading to cardiovascular disease and poor circulation.

Studies have shown that those with high levels of TMAO in their blood have a higher risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke. It follows that cutting back on red meat could have a positive outcome in lowering the amount of TMAO the liver converts. In one study participants who ate an average of 1.1 servings of red mat per day had a 22% higher risk of heart disease compared to those who ate less, with 10% of this risk possibly attributed to increased levels of TMAO and two other metabolites created by the gut bacteria from digestion of red meat, gamma-butyrobetaine and crotonobetaine.

  The other important component of food when considering the connection between the gut and the heart, is fiber. It supports both the heart and the gut lowering the risk of heart disease and stroke by up to 30%! As fiber travels the small intestine it binds fat and cholesterol, decreasing the absorption of both and lowering blood cholesterol levels. Fiber is also broken down in the colon by bacteria to form short-chain fatty acids that interact with receptors on cells that regulate blood pressure, better control blood sugar and cool down inflammation-all of which can improve your heart health.

  The bottom line to help your gut help your heart is by limiting consumption of red meat, adopting a more plant-based diet and eating fiber-rich veggies, fruit, whole grains and legumes.