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HowToPreventHeartDisease.com |
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How Is Gut Bacteria Linked To Heart Disease?
A few large-scale genetic studies have suggested hereditary factors account for only about 15 percent of cardiovascular risk, while environmental causes are responsible for the rest. The single largest environmental exposure is what people eat. Diet does play an important role in determining one's health. For instance, people who enjoy indulging in foods high in saturated fats and cholesterol are at a higher risk of developing chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and stroke. On the other hand, a healthy eating plan like the Mediterranean diet can promote heart health. With a focus on olive oil and red wine, Mediterranean diet encourages healthier overall menu choices like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and fresh fish flavored with herbs and spices. Lately, researchers have identified that substances found within Mediterranean diet might not only help prevent heart disease but also show potential to actually treat heart disease by targeting the gut microbes, without using typical drugs that affect the body as a whole.
There are trillions of bacteria, fungi, and other
microbes living in the digestive system. For every one of the body's cells,
there are 10 microbes living in the gut and mouth, on the skin, and elsewhere.
These microbes are mostly friendly, and they break down toxins, crowd out
invaders, manufacture certain vitamins and amino acids and train the immune
system. However, some of them are not so friendly and are influencing heart
health in previously unseen ways.
Researchers have since early 2000s learnt that gut microbes play an important role in regulating weight and the body's response to insulin. A few years ago, a Cleveland Clinic research team found that diets rich in animal fats, including red meat and high-fat dairy products, could trigger a metabolic process during digestion that contributes to the development of heart disease. Consumption of these foods cause the formation of TMAO (trimethylamine N-oxide). Studies have found that increased blood levels of TMAO are linked to accelerated atherosclerosis in mice and an elevated risk of heart disease in humans. A study from 2013 that analyzed 4007 people with and without cardiovascular disease over 3 years found that higher TMAO at the start of the study were more likely to die and have heart attacks and strokes. Being one of the most common causes of heart disease, atherosclerosis occurs when the arteries become hardened due to the build-up of plaque. Over time the plaque formations can slowly cause narrowing or blockage of these vital vessels. This then can lead to heart attacks or strokes. Ways to block the host enzymes that cause the formation of TMAO have been studied, but the scientists have not yet found a solution that did not result in other adverse effects. In the December 2015 issue of journal 'Cell', the same Cleveland Clinic research team discovered certain elements found in a Mediterranean diet could block the metabolic pathway leading to the formation of TMAO. A compound called DMB that occurs naturally in extra-virgin olive oil and red wine was identified as an effective inhibitor of TMAO production in the gut. In their studies, the researchers treated mice, which were fed a diet rich in animal-fats and were genetically predisposed to developing atherosclerosis, with the DMB compound. The TMAO levels and formation of plaques within the arteries were found to be substantially lower and there were no adverse effects.
Such discovery means that the metabolic pathway,
triggered by gut bacteria, could now be blocked by targeting the gut microbes
with DMB commonly found in the Mediterranean diet. If these studies can be
replicated in humans, new remedial options targeting the gut bacteria to prevent
diet-induced heart disease could soon become a reality. And more importantly,
the treatment could be designed to target the molecular pathways triggered by
the gut bacteria instead of a systemic drug that works by targeting human cells.
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