SocraticGadfly: High blood pressure – it’s all in your stomach

April 21, 2008

High blood pressure – it’s all in your stomach

No, seriously.

A big new study of world metabolic patterns indicate that the exact mix of digestive system microorganisms people have is a contributory factor to blood pressure levels.
Bacteria in the intestines and colon help digest and break down food. … Some of the compounds they release have drug-like effects, British researcher Jeremy Nicholson said.

He looked at these breakdown products, called metabolites, in human urine to see if he could find any links with heart disease. Saying the study only scratches the surface, Nicholson said his team already identified four such compounds that can be linked with blood pressure differences.

Sidebar: 90 percent of “you” or “I” isn’t actually human cells; it’s microorganisms.

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