Probiotics and Heart Health: The Surprising Connection

In recent years, gut health has taken the wellness world by storm—and with good reason.

The makeup of your gut microbiome plays a crucial role in everything from digestion to your immune response. It can even affect your mental health. 

But does the key to a healthier heart also lie in your gut? 

A growing body of evidence is sparking interest in the gut-heart connection, suggesting that probiotics—the beneficial bacteria that support gut health—could have a positive influence on your cardiovascular health.  

In fact, nurturing your gut microbiome could be a simple, natural way to support a stronger heart. 

Let’s explore the fascinating link between probiotics and heart health, plus look at some easy ways you can incorporate these beneficial microbes into your daily routine. 

What Are Probiotics?

Before we dive into the connection between probiotics and heart health, it helps to understand what—exactly—probiotics are. 

And to do that, we have to start somewhere unexpected: bacteria. 

Your Gut Microbiome

Your body is home to trillions of bacteria. They live on your skin, in your mouth, in your nasal passages, and—most importantly—in your gut. In fact, the vast majority of the bacteria in and around your body resides in your gut microbiome, a complex, carefully balanced environment. 

Why the need for balance? There are two types of bacteria living in your gut microbiome: beneficial (“good”) bacteria and pathogenic (“bad”) bacteria. Because your gut has a limited amount of available space, when one type of bacteria flourishes, it suppresses the other. 

Ideally, the colonies of beneficial bacteria dominate, leading to better digestive, immune, and overall health. 

But that balance isn’t guaranteed. Factors such as illnesses, infections, diet, lifestyle choices, environmental toxins, and more can disrupt your microbiome and upset that balance, weakening beneficial bacteria and allowing pathogenic bacteria to take over. And this condition, known as dysbiosis, doesn’t just affect your gut. Its effects can ripple through your entire body, including your cardiovascular system. 

Creating and sustaining a properly balanced gut microbiome—one with strong, robust colonies of beneficial bacteria—is essential to maintaining your overall health and well-being. 

So, what can you do to encourage a healthy gut and keep those beneficial bacteria strong? 

That’s where probiotics come in!

How Probiotics Support Your Gut

Probiotics are live bacteria, too. In fact, they’re similar or even identical to the beneficial bacteria that already live in your gut microbiome.

When you consume probiotics—whether through food, drinks, or supplements—they join forces with your gut’s existing colonies of beneficial bacteria, adding to both their quantity and quality. These reinforced colonies, thanks to the added strength of the probiotics, are then able to crowd out the bad bacteria and bring balance to your gut.

The result? A thriving gut microbiome that does more than just keep your digestive system running smoothly—it supports everything from your immune resilience to your emotional state. And, as newer research shows, it may even have a positive influence on your cardiovascular health.

But how does what’s going on in your gut affect your heart? Let’s take a closer look at the gut-heart connection. 

The Gut-Heart Connection

How can your gut influence your heart health? Once again, it all comes down to bacteria. 

The bacteria in your gut microbiome do much more than just break down food. They can also impact inflammation, cholesterol levels, and blood pressure—three major factors affecting your cardiovascular health. This relationship is known as the gut-heart axis—and it makes your microbiome a key player in supporting a strong, healthy heart. 

When your gut is balanced and beneficial bacterial colonies are thriving, several heart-healthy processes are taking place at once. 

• Good bacteria help regulate cholesterol by breaking down bile acids, reducing LDL (“bad’) cholesterol, and even increasing HDL (“good”) cholesterol. 
• These beneficial microbes also produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which help reduce inflammation and promote healthy blood vessels.

On the flip side, dysbiosis—an imbalanced gut—can trigger a number of conditions that are harmful to your heart. Pathogenic bacteria can contribute to arterial stiffness, high blood pressure, and plaque buildup in your arteries. Poor gut health can also produce chronic inflammation—a leading cause of cardiovascular disease. 

Clearly, a balanced gut microbiome does much more than support digestion—it could be the key to protecting your heart. 

And probiotics, with their positive effect on your gut, can help. Let’s look at the science behind their heart-protecting benefits. 

How Probiotics Benefit Heart Health

Your gut influences your cardiovascular health, and probiotics support a balanced microbiome. The connection there is clear and supported by growing research.

But there are other ways that probiotics can protect your heart; let’s explore these. 

Lowering Cholesterol

Probiotics can help improve your cholesterol profile, which is crucial in protecting your heart. 

Too much LDL (“bad”) cholesterol can cause a fatty buildup—known as plaque—in your arteries, restricting blood flow and even increasing the risk of a heart attack. On the other hand, HDL (“good”) cholesterol helps clear out excess LDL and reduces the risk of plaque. 

Studies show that regularly consuming probiotics can promote an overall healthier cholesterol level. These beneficial bacteria break down bile acids, preventing your body from reabsorbing them. This forces your liver to use more cholesterol to produce new bile acids, which helps lower LDL and raise HDL. 

.

Reducing Blood Pressure

Probiotics can also help regulate blood pressure—a promising sign for its positive effect on heart health. 

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, can damage the heart, leading to a heart attack or stroke. Recent studies show that in just 16 weeks, probiotics helped relax blood vessels and improve circulation, significantly reducing blood pressure.

Decreasing Inflammation

Gut health = immune health = heart health. 

Dysbiosis, which occurs when pathogenic bacteria are predominant in your microbiome, can lead to greater gut permeability, often referred to as “leaky gut.” When this occurs, pathogens and other harmful microbes can pass into your bloodstream, eventually resulting in chronic inflammation. 

This inflammation plays a major role in heart disease, loosening plaque, creating blood clots, and putting you at a greater risk for a major cardiac event. 

By taking probiotics to keep your gut and immune system in top shape, you can also support healthier blood vessels and a stronger heart. 

How to Add Probiotics to Your Routine 

As the research shows, there’s a strong connection between probiotics and heart health. And adding them to your diet—regularly and consistently—will protect not just your cardiovascular health but also your digestive system, immune response, emotional state, and your overall health and well-being.

Let’s look at some of the best ways to make probiotics part of your daily routine. 

Probiotic Foods and Beverages

Probiotic-friendly food and drinks are one way to make sure you’re getting enough of these helpful microbes. 

Not sure which ones contain probiotics? Fermentation is the biggest giveaway. 

During the fermentation process, beneficial bacteria break down the sugars and carbohydrates naturally present in certain foods. For example, milk ferments into yogurt and cabbage into sauerkraut. This doesn’t just help preserve the food; it also produces gut-friendly probiotic bacteria as a side effect.

The result is a delicious, probiotic-rich food that supports your gut microbiome—and your heart health.

Ready to incorporate probiotics into your diet? Try these probiotics for heart health.

• Kefir
• Kimchi
• Kombucha
• Miso
• Natto
• Sauerkraut
• Soft cheese (some)
• Sourdough bread
• Tempeh
• Yogurt
• Pickles (and other pickled vegetables)

Are fermented foods enough? Simple answer: no. For one, it’s difficult to know the exact amount—and quality—of the probiotics they contain. Additionally, many of the probiotics in these foods will die before they reach your gut, meaning they cannot impart as many benefits, especially those deeper, long-term benefits that you may be looking for.

So while they are a solid addition to your diet and provide benefits to your gut and overall health, if you want to reap all the benefits that these beneficial bacteria have to offer, there’s a better option: high-quality probiotic supplements.

Probiotic Supplements

Just like probiotic foods and drinks, probiotic supplements also contain bacterial strains that closely resemble—or are the same as—the beneficial microbes already living in your gut microbiome. 

The difference? Supplements can provide consistency and potency. Unlike food sources, which can vary in probiotic quantity and quality, high-quality supplements will clearly list the specific strains and CFUs (colony-forming units) in each dose. Though bear in mind, quality always trumps quantity (i.e. number of CFU’s), that’s why you also want to look for supplements that are third-party tested for gastric survivability and DNA verified.

Another advantage is convenience. Probiotic supplements are easy to take, so you can stay consistent with your gut health routine.

By choosing a high-quality spore probiotic, you can give your gut the support it needs—and protect your heart health at the same time. 

We’re big fans of this spore probiotic supplement by Just Thrive, containing the most researched, DNA-verified bacterial strains on the market. These particular strains are naturally equipped with an endospore shell that protects them on their journey through your digestive enzymes, bile, and stomach acids, so the bacteria “arrive alive” in your gut every time—unlike most traditional probiotics. 

Just Thrive Probiotic contains four potent, proprietary strains of beneficial bacteria. 

• Bacillus Indicus HU36™, which delivers 15 potent, protective antioxidants right to your gut 
• Bacillus Subtilus HU58™, which produces defenders against harmful bacteria and other pathogens, plus aids in digestive health
• Bacillus Coagulans, which helps crowd out bad bacteria, supporting a healthy, balanced microbiome
• Bacillus Clausii, which helps maintain the right bacterial balance and can help recolonize your gut with good bacteria if you’ve had to take antibiotics

Each of these powerful, proven strains has a unique job to do, and together, they lend unmatched support to your gut—and your heart.

And if you don’t like taking capsules, you can sprinkle the tasteless, odorless contents into a smoothie or over your meals. (Or, try their delicious gummies, containing the same powerful probiotic strains.)

Final Thoughts

The key to a healthy heart might be found someplace surprising: in your microbiome, thanks to the gut-heart axis. 

And probiotics—which help balance and support your gut—offer a simple, natural way to protect your heart. Making these beneficial microbes a consistent part of your routine can be a small change, but the benefits are huge. More importantly, probiotics can help keep your heart healthy and strong for years to come! 

Related