Heart disease remains the #1 leading cause of death in the world, including the U.S.
And despite all we know about diet, exercise, smoking, and other risk factors, heart attack and stroke continue to cause about 31% of all deaths every year. That disturbing fact led concerned researchers to look for new solutions. And they found them… in the gut.
The intriguing and inspiring discovery opened up a groundbreaking branch of research that has the potential to help doctors and scientists truly combat heart disease. And the target they landed on was completely unexpected, and certainly nothing to sneeze at…
Mucus.
Mucus Is as Serious as a Heart Attack
Never heard of the “mucosal system?” Think of it as a kind of skin, only thicker, that blankets every square inch INSIDE your body (mouth, nasal passages, lungs, stomach, small and large bowel, etc.).
At 4,000 sq feet and 200x larger than our skin, the mucosa is now considered to be the body’s largest organ and surface area. Like a road block, it prevents harmful organisms and substances from crossing into areas of the body where they don’t belong.
But when you’re thinking about heart health, mucus probably never springs to mind. However, your mucosal system, especially the portion that lines your gut, has a direct effect on your cardiovascular system.
In fact, the gut-heart connection has proven to be so important that cardiologists believe that supporting the gut could be a promising new way to keep hearts healthy and strong.
You see, when the mucosal lining of your intestines is thick and resilient, it shields your intestinal wall from the irritating effects of the barrage of toxins constantly being produced inside your intestines by harmful bacteria.
Unfortunately, when the gut mucosal lining is weakened, those toxins - called lipopolysaccharides, or LPS toxins - punch holes in the “blanket” of your gut barrier (a condition known as “leaky gut”). This then allows the dangerous toxins to escape the protective confines of your gut and leak directly into your bloodstream.
Your complex cardiovascular network is akin to your body’s super highway which is great for transporting important nutrients and compounds. Unfortunately, it’s also an easy way for these toxins to gain access to any system and organ in your body, and create all sorts of havoc )such as setting off a body-wide inflammatory response.)
When it comes to your heart health, LPS toxins have been shown to promote the development of plaque in the blood vessels, which as you might expect is bad news. This plaque can trigger devastating health problems including: