Studies Prove that Microbiome Regulates
High Blood Pressure
Your bacteria play a crucial role keeping blood pressure in check!
By Ross Pelton, RPh, PhD, CCN
Scientific Director, Essential Formulas
Growing evidence explains how the human gut microbiome regulates various aspects of human health that extend far beyond the gastrointestinal tract. The purpose of this article is to review studies that report that gut microbiome dysbiosis is strongly associated with high blood pressure.
Many genetic, environmental, diet, and lifestyle factors are associated with hypertension. However, the involvement of the gut microbiome is one factor that has been largely ignored and underestimated.
Previously, animal studies have reported an association between dysregulation of the gut microbiome and elevated blood pressure.i More recently, human clinical trials are reporting a clear relationship between an imbalance of the gut microbiome and high blood pressure. One of the primary findings is that intestinal barrier dysfunction, which is also called intestinal permeability, or “leaky gut,” is linked to elevated blood pressure in humans.ii
The CARDIA Study:
The CARDIA study (Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults) began in 1985 with 5,115 participants. The CARDIA microbiome study is a 30-year follow-up examination designed to assess the relationship between the gut microbiome and blood pressure.iii
During the 30-year follow-up, researchers collected stool samples from 600 of the original participants and correlated their colonic microbiome with blood pressure.
The study revealed that having certain types of bacteria present in the colon is strongly associated with increased blood pressure.
A recent study published in the British Medical Journal reported that lifestyle changes might be more important than drugs to treat mildly elevated blood pressure.iv The authors of this study emphasized that you cannot cure high blood pressure by taking prescription drugs. Drugs only help to control high blood pressure as long as the individual continues to take them. You can only cure high blood pressure by changing the lifestyle factors that cause it.
Numerous diet and lifestyle factors influence blood pressure. The CARDIA study results suggest that diet and lifestyle changes can help lower elevated blood pressure because they increase the quantity and diversity of probiotic bacteria and the production of healthful postbiotic metabolites such as the short-chain fatty acid butyrate.
At Essential Formulas, we suggest that the most vital method to create and maintain an optimally healthy microbiome is to consume a diet containing a wide variety of fiber-rich food along with taking two capsules of Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics daily.
Dr. Ohhira’s probiotics are produced in a multi-year fermentation process, which results in a final product that contains probiotics, prebiotics, and over 500 postbiotic metabolites. The direct delivery of a wide range of postbiotic metabolites explains why Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics frequently elicit rapid improvement of gastrointestinal symptoms such as gas, bloating, diarrhea, and inflammation. This is referred to as The Dr. Ohhira’s Advantage!