Why is high blood pressure linked to gut flora?

The pathogenesis of primary hypertension is still unclear and is a major key problem plaguing the medical community, but diet, life, environment, and bad mood can cause hypertension are known factors, so what mechanism do these factors use to cause hypertension? One study found that intestinal flora may be associated with these factors causing high blood pressure.

The metabolite SCFA can lower blood pressure. 

SCFA is a class of metabolites that are produced from undigested carbohydrates in the intestine after intestinal bio metabolism, including acetate, butyrate, and propionate. These substances can be involved in blood pressure regulation, diastole blood vessels, reduce inflammation, and suppress immune responses.

Gut microbes can also influence hypertension through inflammatory and immune responses

The dietary intake of red meat, which is digested and metabolized in the body to produce TMAO, has been the subject of much attention for its ability to cause atherosclerosis. They have also been found to be correlated with hypertension. Ferments of Lactobacillus can protect vascular endothelial cells and inhibit hypertension-related inflammation and oxidative stress by reducing the production of reactive oxygen species. The process of systemic immune and inflammatory response can be induced by the release of endotoxins after the self-decomposition of intestinal flora, which can aggravate the progression of hypertension-associated chronic kidney disease.

The number of bifidobacteria in the intestinal flora of hypertensive patients is significantly reduced and inflammatory cells in serum and tissues are significantly increased, while bifidobacteria are probiotics that are involved in the maturation and regulation of the body's immune system, which is why imbalance of intestinal flora can cause hypertension.

Intestinal flora can indeed affect blood pressure values, but some flora can significantly lower blood pressure, which is beneficial to human health; some flora will instead raise blood pressure, which is not beneficial to human health.

how to play the role of antihypertensive flora and avoid the role of antihypertensive flora? Mainly from two aspects.

Eat a light diet, avoid high salt diet.

High salt diet will lead to high blood pressure this is the old knowledge, in the past, we think high salt diet causes high blood pressure because of high osmotic pressure brought about by high salt diet, the blood vessel wall has a relatively strong destructive force. And now there are new findings on high salt diet causing high blood pressure, high salt diet will affect the number and type of lactobacillus in the intestine, but also through the immune response, affecting blood pressure. In addition to avoiding a high salt diet, a light diet should also avoid large fish and meat, especially red meat, and a vegetarian diet with more dietary fiber, which has a positive effect on lowering blood pressure.

In addition, prebiotics such as plant polyphenols, inulin, and or oligosaccharides can promote the growth of bifidobacteria and promote the recovery of butyrate production substances, thus lowering the blood pressure of the organism. 

A more typical plant polyphenol-rich substance is tea, which is rich in tea polyphenols. Therefore, appropriate tea consumption by hypertensive patients can regulate blood pressure by affecting probiotics, in addition to relieving fatigue and regulating mood.