Low fiber diet leads to hypertension

 Recently, a study by Monash University scientists confirmed for the first time that a low fiber diet may lead to high blood pressure. If left untreated, high blood pressure can lead to stroke, myocardial infarction, stiffness of the heart's arteries and muscles, and kidney stiffness, thereby reducing its function. Hypertension is also the most common risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

In the study, published in the journal Circulation, the authors tested the difference between a high and low resistant starch diet using a mouse model. Resistant starch is a kind of fiber food, which can resist gastrointestinal digestion until it reaches the large intestine and is absorbed by probiotics.

The results showed that mice fed a low fiber diet were more likely to develop hypertension. After that, the researchers through the sterile mice fecal transplantation experiment showed that the low fiber diet caused by intestinal microbial ecological environment changes is the direct cause of hypertension.

"Hypertension remains a major risk factor for cardiovascular death," said lead author Dr. Francine marques, director of the National Heart Foundation at Monash University's School of biological sciences. A fiber deficient diet is associated with the prevalence of hypertension, but this study reveals the role of intestinal flora in it

Professor David Kaye, director of Cardiology at Alfred Hospital and head of heart failure at Baker college, CO led the study. Professor Kaye said that although it is well known that a high fiber diet can prevent the development of heart disease, the mechanism of this effect remains uncertain.

Microbial fermentation of resistant starch in the gut can release a series of metabolites, among which small molecules called short chain fatty acids (SCFA) can reduce blood pressure. The team found that even if the mice were fed these SCFAs directly without resistant starch fiber in their diet, their blood pressure decreased and their cardiovascular health improved.