February is Heart Month, so it’s the perfect time to talk about the Gut-Heart Connection.
It’s no secret that diet can impact your heart. Luckily, more and more people have moved away from the low-fat trend, and are embracing anti-inflammatory fats as part of a heart healthy approach. For more on that topic you can read The Truth About Your Cholesterol or High Fat For a Healthy Heart.
In today’s blog, I’m just going to focus on the Gut-Heart Connection. I will be presenting on this very topic for the Heart Fit Clinic, so I thought I would share some of that discussion with you in case you can’t make that event. That conversation is happening very soon!
Factors Contributing to Heart Disease
Genetics: if you have a copy of the APOE 4 gene or genetic variations that impact methylation, then you will be at greater risk of developing heart disease. Genetics plays the smallest role in the development of heart disease.
Triggers: there are many lifestyle triggers that impact the health of your heart. How is your stress level? Do you exercise regularly? What is the quality of your diet? How is your dental health? Have you been exposed to heavy metals or other toxins? Do you smoke? Are you a heavy drinker?
Gut Health: an imbalanced gut microbiome (dysbiosis) or leaky gut impact heart health. Read on to find out more.
What’s Leaking Out of Your Gut?
Let me begin with a few key concepts you need to know. If your gut microbiome isn’t healthy, then you will develop leaky gut.
The relationship between your microbes and the cells of your intestine is intimately connected, so that if your microbes are in a healthy balance, your gut lining will be healthy. The inverse is also true. If you microbes aren’t in a healthy balance, then your gut lining won’t be healthy.
You can’t always feel dysbiosis and leaky gut. You might have digestive symptoms like bloating, heartburn or reflux, constipation or diarrhea, or nausea… but you might not. If you don’t have gut symptoms, but have heart problems, then consider that you might have dysbiosis and leaky gut.
With heart disease there are numerous molecules that can leak from the gut and impact the heart. Today I’m focusing on 3 of them:
Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) - produced by Gram-negative bacteria in the gut. These vesicles are normally too big to pass through the gut lining, so when they show up in the blood it is a sign of leaky gut (1). They bind to toll-like receptors on immune cells and heart cells leading to the inflammatory response associated with atherosclerosis (2) and heart disease (3). High levels are also correlated to diabetes, obesity and liver health.
Trimethylamine N-oxide - produced when gut microbes metabolize choline, betaine and l-carnitine. Bind to cell receptors signalling the release of inflammatory chemical mediators that impact heart health (4). Also correlated to liver disease and diabetes.
Histamine - produced by some gut microbes and found in food. High levels in the blood are associated with angina, changes in blood pressure, heart palpitations, arrhythmia, and blood clots (5). Histamine is also stored in high amounts in cardiac tissue (6). Symptoms tend to wax and wane rather than be consistent. Histamine is correlated to allergies, eczema, asthma, migraines, muscle pain, sinus inflammation and reflux (GERD). To find out if histamine is an issue for you visit the Resource page at histaminehaven.com.
Blood tests are available for each of these biomarkers, but do you really need to get these tests? Your family doctor doesn’t do these. You will need to find a functional or naturopathic doctor who does these.
Test Results Don’t Matter
It doesn’t matter what is leaking out of your gut. LPS, TMAO and histamine are contributing to the inflammation that has affected your heart and arteries, but trying to address those substances, is a bit like trying to put out a fire that is still being fed fuel.
Fix the leaking gut, and you fix the problem! If LPS, TMAO and histamine aren’t getting into your blood stream anymore, they can’t bind to cells and start the cascade of inflammation associated with heart and cardiovascular disease.
Do I Have Dysbiosis and Leaky Gut?
Have you ever been on antibiotics for an extended period of time, or repeatedly? Common examples include use for childhood ear aches or reoccurring bronchitis, teenage acne, or chronic UTIs (urinary tract infections).
Have you used NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) such as ibuprofen, aspirin, naproxen or paracetamol for extended periods of time?
Have you used birth control pills?
Have you eaten a diet high in refined carbs such as bread, cereal, pasta, baked goods, and crackers?
Have you had viral or bacterial infections in your gut?
Have you had exposure to toxins? The reality is that we can all answer ‘yes’ to this, as toxins are pervasive in our environment.
Have you been through a prolonged period of stress?
Were you formula fed as an infant, or were you born via C-section?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, then you could have dysbiosis and leaky gut.
3 Tips to Fix Your Gut to Fix Your Heart
Replace grains with alternative flours like coconut flour, almond flour or cassava flour. Grains contain lectins that damage the gut lining contributing to the leakiness.
Replace sugars with a bit of honey, maple syrup or dried fruit. Sugar (and refined grains) perpetuate gut dysbiosis by feeding pathogenic species of microbes. Keep quantities of healthier sweeteners low.
Consume meat and collagen. These provide the amino acids needed to repair the gut lining.
What About Probiotic Rich Foods?
You have probably heard about the benefits of eating foods like yogurt for gut health. Yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, and other cultured vegetables can be great ways to add beneficial probiotics to your gut. So you can add those every day.
The problem with these foods is that they are also high in histamine. If you think that histamine is impacting your heart health, then work with a practitioner to customize your diet.
If that all feels a bit overwhelming, you know where to find me. That’s what I’m here for. You can connect with me here.
Happy, Healthy Eating!
Tracey