The Gut-Heart Connection

By Samantha Gill, CHN

The heart represents love and more importantly has a role in keeping us alive! Therefore, it is important more than ever to take care of your heart health. However, in order to do so, we need to focus on nourishing the gut with gut loving nutrients so that we can repair and replenish the gut in a way that will benefit our heart health. As Hippocrates once quoted “all disease begins in the gut” and therefore, at GutVantage, we believe that is where we need to begin making positive changes to benefit other body organs and systems, which in this case is the heart.

FEED YOUR GUT TO FILL YOUR HEART

“Trust your gut, when it comes to the matters of your heart” is something that I live by and it’s nice to know that science backs up this gut feeling of mine. Recent research has shown that an imbalance in our gut-heart axis from an overgrowth of “bad” gut microbes can contribute to coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis (plaque build up in the arteries, which narrows the arteries and increases blood pressure). But how exactly is it linked, you might ask? I’d love to give you an answer (because I think this is so cool!). Science tells us that specific gut bugs produce a metabolite (by-product) called butyrate (a type of short chain fatty acid) that helps the gut maintain a healthy bacterial balance. This, in turn, can slow the progression of atherosclerosis, according to recent research. This means the gut plays a key role in heart health. But wait, what are short chain fatty acids, you ask? Well, short chain fatty acids are made by the good bacteria in the gut and, most importantly, they are the main source of nutrient-rich food for cells found in your colon. We need to make sure we help our gut bugs produce short chain fatty acids like butyrate – because our colon cells crave them, and need them to stay healthy! In other words, nutrition is the primary fuel for our colon cells, which is something that we love to hear!

2 EASY WAYS TO INCREASE GUT & HEART HEALTH

In order to increase butyrate producing gut bugs, the first step is to increase our good gut bugs.

Here are two ways to help increase good gut bacteria through foods:

Increase PRObiotic rich foods – these contain live bacteria that help replenish the gut.

Examples include:

Raw Sauerkraut – add 1 tbsp of raw sauerkraut to your salad
Plain Kefir – take a shot of plain kefir after dinner
Plain Yogurt – add 1 cup to your smoothie
Kimchi – add ¼ cup to a serving of steamed rice
Cottage Cheese – add ¼ cup on your morning toast, along with seasoning and veggies of your choice.

2. Increase PREbiotic rich foods – these contain indigestible plant fibers that help increase good gut bugs.

Examples include:

Apples – enjoy as a snack dipped in almond butter (this will also help balance your blood sugar)
Onions – can be added to various dishes (our cashew cream pasta recipe is a great example of one of those dishes)
Green Banana – you can incorporate this into our banana treat recipe (add a drizzle of honey or maple syrup to sweeten things up)
Asparagus – season and bake in the oven to add as a side to any meal
Garlic – add ½ of a minced clove to your 2-egg scramble

For the longest time, I always associated love as something you feel for others. However, as time went on, I realized that before I could whole-heartedly love another, I needed to accept and love myself first. One way to do this is to prioritize and take care of your own health. This, in turn, will help you be there for your loved ones!

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