We're celebrating World Heart Day! Organised by the World Heart Foundation, the event held annually on September 29 is designed to get people connecting more closely with their heart health. 

Cardiovascular diseases are one of the most widespread killers in today’s complex health environment but are also one of the most preventable. This is the driver behind World Heart Day – to promote the ways that individuals can reduce their individual likelihood of developing heart complications. 

This year’s celebration involves the theme of creating global 'Heart Heroes'; to encourage people to learn more about their own heart health, as well as the ways a more cardio-aware lifestyle can contribute to prolonged wellness. The sphere of heart health has developed rapidly over recent years with dietary intervention and nutritional supplements set to play a key role in the future of heart health management. With no overarching panacea to maintaining good heart health, it is now recognised that it takes a series of smaller, meaningful changes to achieve a cumulative effect.  

The World Heart Foundation has listed a series of promises for the following year that the organisation wants the general population to understand and commit to. These promises are:

• To cook and eat more healthily
• To exercise more and be more active
• To say no to smoking and help loved ones to stop
• For healthcare professionals to help patients give up smoking and lower their cholesterol
• For policymakers to support policies that promote healthy hearts
• For employees to invest in heart-healthy workplaces

It is hoped that by encouraging more people to commit to these promises, overall heart health can be improved nationally and what they all have in common is the lowering of cholesterol. 

Connecting the gut to the heart

Until recently, the wellbeing of the heart was treated very much as an isolated mechanism of the body. Ongoing research into the complex relationship between gut bacteria, metabolism and the wider physiologies of the body is revealing the extent of intestinal health’s impact on overall wellness, especially where the heart is concerned. 

The microbes that thrive in the human gut play an important role in the management of lipid absorption and deposition – the fat-like substances found in the blood and body tissues. The liver produces cholesterol, which in turn is needed to produce bile salts that aid digestion. Specific microbes have the capability to break down these bile salts in the intestine once they have completed their role of aiding digestion. As the bile salts are not being reabsorbed by the intestine, they are subsequently not recycled. When this happens, the liver needs to replenish the lost bile salts by synthesising more bile. This is achieved by pulling cholesterol from the existing supply in the blood, therefore decreasing the cholesterol pool. 

The role of probiotics

Because the relationship between gut health and cardiovascular wellness has been identified, there is a quickly-growing interest in probiotics to aid gut health and, by extension, as suggested by contemporary research, the heart. Probiotics are live microbe cultures that provide key health benefits, the nature of which is dependent on the specific strain involved. Historically, probiotics have focussed on the immune system and digestion, but thanks to rapid advances in research and development, they can now aid a wider spectrum of functions within the body.

One of the simplest ways to support your gut microbiome and the beneficial effect it has on heart health is by taking a scientifically-backed probiotic product, such as CholBiome^®_X3. Your microbiome is a fundamental component of overall health. Looking after the microbial communities in your gut is the best place to start when it comes to promoting holistic wellness. Microbes in the gut are known to influence factors that affect cardiovascular risks, such as cholesterol levels and hypertension (high blood pressure). An imbalance in the gut can lead to increased levels of harmful LDL cholesterol in the body. 

CholBiome^®_X3 works on this principle; as a holistic alternative to pharmaceutical treatments, it helps to reduce blood pressure and cholesterol to promote overall heart wellness. It combines three functional ingredients into one effective food supplement. Monacolin K, derived from red yeast rice, inhibits the synthesis of cholesterol by the liver. Niacin, a form of vitamin B, modulates the degradation of cell fats, helping to maintain a normal energy-yielding metabolism. Finally, Lactobacillus plantarum, known as LP_LDL^®, a naturally occurring bacterium, modulates bile acid metabolism to harness the microbiome-liver axis and impact positively on the gut microbiome.

 LP_LDL^® is naturally and scientifically formulated to specifically target individuals experiencing high levels cholesterol by allowing regulation of the microbiome-liver axis and modulation of bile acids. The result is a non-pharmaceutical solution that reduces overall cholesterol by up to 36.7%, without the side effects known to be associated with commonly prescribed statins.  

As World Heart Day encourages individuals to learn more about their cardiovascular health, it’s the ideal time to start rebalancing the gut microbiome and reaping the extensive health benefits it brings. The next-generation suite of probiotic solutions developed by OptiBiotix are supported by key opinion leaders in the microbiome field. 

To find out how the CholBiome range can transform your cardiovascular health please click here.