“You are what you eat,” is a great quote when considering all the health benefits of eating natural, unprocessed food.

But the key to lowering blood pressure may lie in something that accounts for at least 2 to 5 pounds of your total body weight and is at the same time not considered your body’s cell type.

There are, right now in your body, trillions of life forms that are not even considered part of your body’s cellular makeup.

Why?

Because they’re bacteria. That’s right- 2 to 5 pounds of your body’s total weight is made up of microorganisms that live a symbiotic lifestyle with our own.

We can’t live without them and they can’t live without us.

[adrotate group=”5″]We hear a lot about good bacteria and bad bacteria. This is actually a misnomer, since all the bacteria we have in the body is potentially good, provided it is in the right balance.

However, our modern Western diets have had a tendency to kick that balance completely out of whack, with terrible consequences.

The most glaring example of health consequences are in the relationship of digestive bacteria and high blood pressure.

The beneficial bacteria in the body serve two functions:

• they keep pathogens in check so we don’t get sick,
• break down our food so we can reap the nutritional benefits.

During this process, Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs) are created, and these are picked up by receptors that manage a whole host of body functions, including blood pressure regulation.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins and Yale universities discovered that the receptors governing the body’s blood pressure mechanisms are the very ones that need these SCFAs.

So boosting the prebiotic content of your food and supplements doesn’t just make your immune and digestive systems function better, it also has a direct role in being able to keep your blood pressure at healthy levels.

Making a change to increase these beneficial bacteria might even be the cure you are looking for.

Examples of foods that include these good bacteria in abundance and help improve your flora are yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, dark chocolate and pickles. You can also benefit from taking probiotic supplements.

But diet change is not always enough to lower blood pressure. Discover how 3 easy exercises drop blood pressure below 120/80 as soon as today…