Many Eating Yogurt Can Prevent Heart Attacks

Humans rely on a large number of microbes that can still survive. The human digestive system itself is home to about 100 trillion microbes. The familiar friendly microbes are called probiotics protect the body from germs, breaking down food to release energy, and produce vitamins. A finding of John E. Baker, Ph.D., an expert in cardiac surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee shows that the type and level of intestinal bacteria predict the likelihood of heart attack. His research shows that probiotics can protect heart patients undergoing cardiac surgery and angioplasty. The findings, published by the journal FASEB This may open the possibility of new diagnostic tests and therapies that prevent and treat heart attacks. "Our discovery is a revolutionary milestone in the prevention and treatment of heart attacks. Relationship among intestinal bacteria and cardiac injury will reduce the risk of death from heart attack. When coupled with the use of probiotics will be able to improve overall heart health," said Prof Baker as dilansie ScienceDaily. Prof Baker and his colleagues provide treatment that can trigger heart attacks in three separate groups of mice. The first group was given normal diet. The second group was given antibiotic vancomycin, and the third group to take a supplement containing the probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum, a bacterium that suppresses the production of the hormone leptin is associated with appetite and metabolism. Apparently mice given antibiotics also showed decreased levels of leptin. Both groups of mice that have low leptin levels more often had a serious heart attack and recover faster. "We're probably not ready to prescribe yogurt to prevent heart attacks, but this study gives us a better understanding of how microbes effect the body's response to injury," said Dr. Gerald Weissmann, editor in chief of the journal FASEB. Professor Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, stressed that farther research will be needed to show weather the effect in mice will apply to humans as well. Human gut contains about 1,500 species of bacteria. Number as much as this causes difficulty in controlling the amount for medical purposes. Indeed, there are products that claim to be able to manipulate the number of bacteria, such as yogurt containing live Lactobacillus bacteria. However, many experts still do not understand how to do this for real.