How Gut Bacteria Influence Blood Pressure (And Why Salt Isn’t the Whole Story) As scientists continue to study the trillions of microorganisms living in our intestines—collectively known as the gut microbiome—it’s becoming clear that this 3–5 pound ecosystem of bacteria plays a central role in nearly every aspect of human health. In fact, some researchers now believe the microbiome may be more influential than our genes in determining health or disease. One of the most surprising discoveries in recent years is the microbiome’s direct involvement in blood pressure regulation. Salt, Blood Pressure, and the Microbiome Connection It’s long been known that excessive salt intake is associated with high blood pressure. What’s new is how salt appears to exert its effects. Salt Alters Gut Bacteria—and Blood Pressure Follows A landmark 2017 study found that when mice and humans consumed excess salt, beneficial gut bacteria declined while pro…

With warmer weather, grilling fish and meat outside is a great way to enjoy the fresh air. But there’s a catch: high heat used in grilling reacts with proteins in the meat to form cancer-causing toxins called heterocyclic amines (HCAs). The longer these proteins are cooked, and the higher the temperature used, the more HCAs develop. This is one reason why people eating high meat diets get more cancer. If that’s not bad enough, fat dripping into fire produces another cancer-causing compound, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Smoke dense with PAHs gets into lungs and also coats the meat being cooked. Fortunately, you can greatly reduce HCAs and PAHs and the damage they do: Trim fat. This reduces the formation of PAHs as less fat drips into the fire. Use smaller, thinner cuts of meat to reduce cooking time. Flipping burgers once a minute versus only once reduced cooking time in one study by 1.8 minutes, and cut HCAs by more than 11-fold. Score thicker cuts of meat…

Excessive amounts of salt in the diet damages healthy bacteria living in our intestines and leads to high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, and fatigue.But we need some salt. If you perspire, whether it's from exercising, using a sauna, or living in a hot climate, you can lose too much sodium and other minerals in your sweat causing serious consequences, even death. People with weak adrenals often don’t retain enough salt leading to excessively low blood pressure, so they need extra salt.According to Mark Kurlansky, author of Salt: A World History, humans began to include salt in their diets once crops were cultivated and grains introduced. Salt mobilizes enzymes that help to digest grains and balance their acidity with alkalinizing minerals. (Unless it’s conventional salt, stripped of its natural minerals, in which case it will only increase the acidifying effect of eating grains. More about that later.)The problem is most people are getting too much salt, and it’s…