As Health Watch readers you know how important probiotics are for independent healing.

Their main job is to help balance and replenish your gut bacteria. This helps keep your immune system strong against invading germs. Gut balance is also critical for proper digestion. It can even help you lose body fat. But the benefits of probiotics go further than that…

We’ve told you before that these good bacteria can boost your mood. And the right probiotics can help you ease allergies, or lose weight. Probiotics even help get rid of dental plaque and bad breath. But new research reveals another unexpected—but welcome—perk of getting enough probiotics…

It’s a problem that 1-3 adults in the U.S. deal with. And less than half of these nearly 70 million people have this condition under control.

It’s a contributing—or primary—cause of over 1,000 deaths daily.1 You may struggle with it yourself. And if you don’t, probiotics may help you keep it that way…

Probiotics may be one of the easiest ways to help shield your heart from this dangerous—even deadly—condition.

We’re talking about high blood pressure.

Researchers in Australia looked at the probiotic consumption of 543 adults for two months. They wanted to see if probiotics could influence blood pressure. Not everyone in the study had high blood pressure… But the team found that subjects taking a daily probiotic lowered their systolic and diastolic blood pressures by 3.5 and 2.38 mm/Hg respectively.2

The results are promising. But they’re not surprising.

You know that getting fiber from leafy greens and berries helps lower your heart attack risk by up to 40%. But part of the reason for this is that fiber actually feeds probiotic bacteria.3 In other words, more fiber means better bacteria. And that means less inflammation.4

This is important because inflammation can cause high blood pressure and heart disease—or worse.5 But there are a few important factors to consider…

Researchers point out that the most dramatic benefit was in subjects with high blood pressure. But that that’s not a bad thing. In fact, it’s very good news for people already living with it.

Another important detail is that a probiotic supplement should have at least a 10 billion colony-forming unit (CFU) rating. This is a fairly high dose. You won’t be able to get this much from foods like asparagus, onions, and artichokes. But there are plenty of natural probiotic supplements that deliver at least this much per dose. You should be able to find them at your local health food store. If not, you can always look online.

Just be sure to take the supplement you find for at least two months. That’s when the heart benefits should really start to kick in.

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References:
1http://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/facts.htm
2http://hyper.ahajournals.org/content/early/2014/07/21/HYPERTENSIONAHA.114.03469.abstract
3http://www.pbhealthcenter.com/2011/09/fiber-and-probiotics-why-this-little-known-combination-is-key-for-good-digestive-health/
4http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/264719.php
5http://hyper.ahajournals.org/content/38/3/399.full