Heart Health Through Gut Health: Nutrition Reviews Study Shows Cholesterol-Lowering Potential Of Certain Probiotics

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Feb. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --  A new study, "Effect of probiotics on biomarkers of cardiovascular disease: implications for heart-healthy diets," published in the January issue of Nutrition Reviews, examined 26 clinical studies and two meta-analyses to assess the potential of probiotics in reducing LDL-cholesterol. 

Of the probiotics examined, L. reuteri NCIMB 30242 (Cardioviva™) was found to best meet therapeutic lifestyle change (TLC) dietary requirements by:

1. Significantly reducing LDL (bad) cholesterol and total cholesterol, with robustness similar to that of existing TLC dietary options,
2. Improving other coronary heart disease risk factors, such as inflammatory biomarkers, and
3. Having "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) status.

Heart disease is a leading cause of death worldwide, and elevated LDL-cholesterol is a major risk factor.  Most adults (91%) say they care about maintaining a healthy cholesterol level for heart health, but less than half (37%) routinely get their cholesterol tested¹. 

"People know probiotics for digestive health.  They don't associate them with heart health," said Doug DiRienzo, PhD and lead author of the review. "It's time to recognize their potential role as a simple and natural tool in cholesterol management."

Randomized double-blinded, placebo-controlled, multicenter trials have shown that Cardioviva™ healthy bacteria lowered total and LDL-cholesterol in hypercholesterolemic adults.  In one of these clinical trials involving 127 adults with high cholesterol, those taking a supplement of L. reuteri NCIMB 30242 (Cardioviva™) twice a day had LDL levels 11.6 percent lower than those taking a placebo after nine weeks².

"It is exciting to think that certain probiotics, such as Cardioviva™, may have an impact on heart health through gut health," said Penny Kris-Etherton, PhD, RD, Distinguished Professor of Nutrition at the Pennsylvania State University and Fellow of the American Heart Association.  "I would encourage consumers who are managing their heart health through diet and exercise to ask their health professionals about probiotics that have been proven effective in lowering cholesterol in clinical trials."

The full Nutrition Reviews paper can be found at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nure.12084/full  (Nutrition Reviews, Volume 72, Issue 1, pages 18–29, January 2014.). 

About Cardioviva™
Cardioviva™ is the first natural probiotic that has been clinically proven to help maintain healthy cholesterol levels in adults. Cardioviva™ healthy bacteria may help to maintain healthy cholesterol levels in two ways: by maintaining the amount of cholesterol the body produces and by maintaining the amount absorbed from food.  Cardioviva™ is available in Canada and the US at Walgreens, CVS, GNC, Vitamin Shoppe, Vitamin Store, Amazon.com and other major retailers.

About The Winning Combination
Founded in 1990, The Winning Combination Inc. is one of Canada's leading Health and Wellness organizations with a focus on manufacturing and distributing natural health products and dietary supplements, such as Cardioviva™. The Winning Combination works closely with local governing regulatory bodies to ensure our products are of the highest quality and are in regulatory compliance in the markets in which we operate. Learn more about The Winning Combination at www.winning-combination.com and about Cardioviva™ at www.mycardioviva.com

About Micropharma
Micropharma Limited, a pioneer in the development of innovative and effective probiotics, supported the convening of a roundtable of leading global experts in heart health, probiotics, and nutrition in the development of the scientific review paper examining a new role for probiotics in cardiovascular health.

Sources

^1. The Toluna Group cholesterol management survey, conducted among 1,068 US adults aged 18+ between December 18 and December 20, 2013.

²  European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2012) 66, 1234–1241.

SOURCE Cardioviva