If you include only low fibre diet in your daily takes, be careful. It can lead to high blood pressure.
According to a study co-led by Monash scientists has confirmed for the first time that low fibre diets may lead to high blood pressure—the ‘silent disease’ which affects large number of people across the world. The study used mice to test the difference between high and low resistant starch diets.
The results found that mice fed a low fibre diet were more predisposed to high blood pressure. Researchers performed fecal transplants on mice without any microbes, and found that only recipients of low fibre microbes went on to develop higher blood pressure.
“High blood pressure continues to be a major risk factor for cardiovascular death,” said lead study author Dr. Francine Marques, a National Heart Foundation Future Leader at the Monash University School of Biological Sciences.
“A diet poor in fibre is associated with prevalence of high blood pressure, but this study is changing the concept of fibre intake being only protective: lack of fibre can actually contribute to high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, and this happens via the gut microbiota.”
Professor David Kaye, Director of Cardiology at Alfred Hospital and head of the Baker Institute Heart Failure, co-led the study. Professor Kaye said although it is known that a diet high in fibre may be protective towards the development of heart disease, the mechanism for this action remained uncertain.
“The study is significant,” he said, “because it identifies for the first time, how dietary fiber directly regulates heart and blood vessel health.”
“One of the most unique findings of the study is that the bacterial profile of the gut, called the gut microbiome, is closely associated with blood pressure and this link is the result of chemicals released by gut bacteria into the circulation,” Professor Kaye said.
