"Gut Microbes Found to Lower Cholesterol, Reduce Heart Disease Risk"

Researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital have discovered specific gut bacteria, including Oscillibacter, that can metabolize cholesterol and potentially reduce heart disease risk. Their study, involving over 1,400 participants from the Framingham Heart Study, identified microbial species that consume cholesterol in the gut, leading to lower cholesterol levels. This finding could pave the way for microbiome-based interventions to decrease cholesterol levels in humans and may contribute to more targeted investigations of how changes to the microbiome affect health and disease.