Gut Bacteria and Cholesterol

“Coincidence is a wonderful thing.” Humphrey Lyttelton

My apologies for last week’s War and Peace blog! I got carried away and the advertised 4-minute read was easily twice that. My penance this week will be brevity.

Quite a few years ago, I accompanied my Dad on one of his frequent medical appointments. I don’t recall the particular illness as there were many, but I do recall the Doctor needing to convey some fairly detailed medical information.

He looked at me and asked me “are you medical”?"

It was the easiest way for the Doctor to know the level on which he needed to explain my Dad’s condition.

With a resume’ as a former helicopter pilot, used car salesman (with integrity), and eventual residential mortgage loan officer (wonderful current occupation), of course, I am definitely not medical.

So, the Doctor proceeded to explain what I needed to know, in very basic terms, probably about a 6th grade level if we’re being honest.

That’s how I best understand cholesterol and that’s as deep as I’m going into the weeds on the fascinating subject of cholesterol.

Cholesterol is in every cell in your body. You need cholesterol to help your brain, skin, and other organs do their jobs.

Your liver makes cholesterol for your body.

Cholesterol floats around in your blood and can get into the walls of the blood vessels. This can cause the blood vessels to get stiffer, narrower, or clogged. If the clogging gets worse over many years, it can cause a heart attack or stroke in adults.

(Meanwhile, Tommy Thompson just got caught passing a note and was sent to the principal’s office. I figured while we were talking on a 6th grade level; I might add some 6th grader tomfoolery for effect.)

In addition to the liver, you can also get cholesterol from the foods you eat. Meat, fish, eggs, butter, cheese, and milk all have cholesterol in them. Fruits, vegetables, and grains (like oatmeal) don't have any cholesterol.

Lastly, there are two types of cholesterol.

LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, or "bad cholesterol," carries cholesterol from the liver into the bloodstream, where it can stick to the blood vessels.

HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, or "good cholesterol," carries the cholesterol in the blood back to the liver, where it is broken down.

That’s as deep as we really need to go since we are not lipidologists.

When connecting the dots between cholesterol and gut health, the low-hanging fruit is found in the food we eat. One of the best ways to control your cholesterol is by eating a healthy diet full of fruits, vegetables, whole foods, nuts, seeds, and plenty of lean protein.

In this space, we know as gut health-conscious, mortals, these two diets are relatively the same. If I had editorial privileges in the medical books, I would add fermented foods to the list. More about this in a minute.

We could just leave it here and chalk up the connection between gut health and cholesterol to a fortuitous coincidence resulting from eating a healthy diet.

But like every cheesy product sold on “As Seen on TV” commercials, turn up the volume for “but wait, there’s more!”

(6th Grader alert)

There is emerging research exploring the relationship between the metabolites gut bacteria make, short chain fatty acids for example, and different ways gut bacteria can alter bile acids with regard to cholesterol.

That’s a mouthful for sure.

The research revolves around gut bacteria having a role in interrupting how cholesterol is absorbed, possibly preventing the downstream negative impacts of cholesterol and eventual cardiovascular disease.

Researchers are hopeful that by understanding this relationship, there might be additional gut bacteria therapies on the horizon for cholesterol management.

If you’re so inclined to take a deeper dive, here’s a good summary of some of the mechanics of cholesterol, gut microbiome, and some study information:

The Role of Gut Microbiota on Cholesterol Metabolism in Atherosclerosis - PMC (nih.gov)

The menu of diet, exercise, lipid-lowering therapies (ex. statin medications), and possibly the addition of “biotic cocktails” could change the way we treat high cholesterol.

The “biotic” part of the cocktail of course refers to bacteria-related activity in your gut that can produce a desired outcome. Where can a person find a way to boost gut bacteria? Fermented foods are a great way to accomplish this task.

Virtually every promising bit of information about the gut microbiome’s role in overall health ends the same way- “BUT… more research is needed”. That’s the case with the cholesterol subject too.

But I have an answer for that which has served me well on my five-year gut health rebuild journey.

I’ll continue to lean into focusing on my gut and let science catch up with me.

Seemingly on a daily basis, I see results of a study that I can associate with actual results I’ve seen personally. I check off these research study results like a grocery list: gut barrier protection, reduced inflammation, blood sugar management, cholesterol management, weight loss/ control, mood, and a stronger immune system.

Until science catches up with me, I’ll continue to lean into keeping my primary focus on the pillars of gut health; a healthy diet that includes plenty of fiber and fermented foods, exercise, stress management, and good sleep.

But sure, more research is needed.

What does a helicopter falling out of the sky have in common with restoring gut health? More than you think. I’ll explain next week.

Thanks for reading,

Jeff