Probiotics and Heart Health
The food, water, vitamins, and supplements you consume play a crucial role in maintaining the health of your “internal garden” — the microorganisms that are an essential part of your digestive system.
Your gut is home to trillions of microbes, collectively known as the microbiome. This internal garden can thrive with beneficial microbes, known as probiotics, or be overrun by harmful ones that act like weeds, making you feel sick, fatigued, and unwell.
Consuming probiotic-rich foods and taking probiotic supplements helps your microbiome flourish with healthy microbes, which push out the “weeds.” A healthy gut microflora can benefit your heart in several ways, which we’ll explore below.
What Are Probiotics?
Probiotics are beneficial microorganisms that have a symbiotic relationship with your body. Some gut bacteria are more helpful than others, which is why you often find specific strains like Lactobacillus or Bifidobacterium in yogurt or supplements.
A healthy human gastrointestinal tract hosts more than 500 microbial species and several trillion individual microbes at any given time. The more diverse your gut flora, the better your gut health. Consuming probiotics from supplements or fermented foods helps push out harmful bacteria, which can wreak havoc on your digestive system.
How Are Probiotics Good for the Heart?
Probiotic microbes not only aid in digestion but also play a role in mental wellness, skin health, and cardiovascular health. Here are some of the top ways probiotics benefit your heart:
Normalize Blood Pressure
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 75 million American adults have high blood pressure, with only slightly more than 50 percent having their numbers under control. Probiotics can help normalize blood pressure.
Studies have shown that taking probiotics balanced both systolic and diastolic blood pressure numbers. The best results were seen in those who took the most probiotics consistently over time, with noticeable benefits appearing after about eight weeks.
Balance Good & Bad Cholesterol
Probiotics can promote normal levels of HDL (good cholesterol) and LDL (bad cholesterol), as well as total blood cholesterol levels. Controlled trials from 2007 to 2017 showed that total cholesterol levels normalized in subjects taking probiotics for six weeks, compared to those in the control group.
Interestingly, taking probiotic supplements in capsule form may have a more significant effect on cholesterol levels than getting probiotics from food.
Encourage Normal Triglyceride Levels
Triglycerides are fatty compounds in your body, and having too many can increase the risk of stroke, heart attack, and other heart disorders. Probiotics can help mitigate this risk.
Studies on both rats and humans have shown that taking probiotics encouraged normal triglyceride levels over six to 12 weeks. Probiotics appear to increase special proteins in the blood, called apolipoproteins, that bind lipids, including triglycerides.
Support Balanced Blood Glucose Levels
Early research indicates that regular consumption of probiotic supplements or probiotic-rich foods helps balance blood sugar levels. Maintaining steady blood glucose levels is crucial for preventing disorders like diabetes, metabolic disorders, and obesity, which are closely linked to heart health.
Help With Obesity & Boost Metabolism
As of 2013, about 67 percent of American adults and 30 percent of American children were either overweight or obese. Probiotic supplements could be part of an overall plan to help lower these numbers, as maintaining a healthy weight is closely linked with heart health.
Probiotics may boost your metabolism by reducing hunger and increasing energy levels. The gut microbiome affects the metabolism of the entire body, and researchers are confident in its role in managing conditions like obesity.
Boost Vitamin D Absorption
Vitamin D is essential for bone strength, immune system function, and heart disease prevention. Deficiencies are common due to limited sun exposure and low levels of vitamins in the modern food supply. Certain probiotic supplements may increase the body’s ability to absorb vitamin D, which is critical for heart health.
Aid Diabetes Management
Probiotics naturally help people with diabetes by promoting normal blood sugar levels. Research reviews have concluded that probiotic supplements play a valuable role in immune health, reducing appetite, normalizing blood sugar, modulating gut permeability, and boosting insulin sensitivity.
Best Natural Sources of Probiotics
While supplements are a common source of probiotics, you can also find beneficial bacteria in several foods. Here are some of the best sources:
Probiotic Foods
Probiotics occur naturally in fermented foods and can also be found in yogurt, kefir, and other non-dairy probiotic foods. Consider adding these to your diet:
- Nut-milk yogurt
- Sauerkraut
- Pickles
- Kimchi
- Kombucha
- Nut-milk kefir
- Umeboshi plums
For foods that help probiotics flourish, known as “prebiotics,” try dark chocolate and fiber-rich foods like chicory root, garlic, onions, sunchokes, and dandelion greens.
Supplements
While it’s generally recommended to get nutrients from food, some studies suggest that probiotic supplements may be more effective. Harvard Medical School recommends taking a supplement with at least one to 10 billion colony-forming units (CFUs) for the best benefits. Choose a vegan-friendly supplement with multiple strains and prebiotics.
Global Healing offers a vegan probiotic supplement called Global Healing’s Ultimate Probiotic, which includes 25 probiotic strains, 50 billion CFUs, and the prebiotic inulin from chicory root to help probiotics thrive in the gut.
Points to Remember
Probiotics and heart health are closely linked. Taking supplements or eating probiotic-rich foods like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, and pickles can balance the bacteria in your GI tract and boost bodily functions that support heart health.
Studies show that the full benefits of probiotics are seen after six to 12 weeks of regular use. Probiotics promote normal cholesterol, blood pressure, triglycerides, swelling, and glucose levels, and can boost metabolism and reduce appetite. These effects help heart health by encouraging a healthy body weight, normalizing metabolism, and improving vitamin D absorption.
For the best results, continue taking probiotics regularly. Supplements tend to have a more significant effect than probiotic foods, but probiotic foods can provide additional nutrition and unique probiotic strains for your gut.
How to Choose the Right Probiotic
When selecting a probiotic supplement, look for one with a high CFU count and multiple strains. Ensure it includes prebiotics to support the probiotics once they are in your gut. A vegan-friendly option with a variety of strains and a high CFU count is ideal for maximizing benefits.
