For better cardiovascular health, check your gut. Bacteria living in your gut may impact your weight, fat and good cholesterol levels, according to new research published in Circulation Research, an American Heart Association journal.

“Our study provides new evidence that microbes in the gut are strongly linked to the blood level of HDL (good cholesterol) and triglycerides and may be added as a new risk factor for abnormal blood lipids, in addition to age, gender, BMI and genetics,” said Jingyuan Fu, Ph.D., study lead author and associate professor of genetics at University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands.

The researchers identified 34 types of bacteria that contributed to differences in body fat and blood lipids, such as triglycerides and the good cholesterol known as HDL.

The bacterial community in the human gut has been referred to as an extra organ because of its important role in an individual’s health, researchers said.

The researchers believe their findings may someday open the door to new therapies to alter the gut bacteria types that contribute to body weight, fat and cholesterol levels, to help aid the prevention of heart disease.

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