Probiotics – gut bugs – regulate the body’s response to statins, potentially limiting the drug’s capacity to lower cholesterol. That’s the latest finding reported by Time magazine regarding the class of drugs prescribed to fight high cholesterol, which in turn is considered enemy #1 in the battle against heart disease.

Statins are a pharmaceutical cash cow, so researchers plan to explore the interaction in order to develop better-performing statins. All of this is ironic, given that probiotics limit statin performance precisely because they’re already doing the work of removing cholesterol naturally.

A spokesperson for the researchers noted that “we’re at a very early stage of understanding this relationship, but [there’s] no doubt that metabolites from bacteria are playing an important role in regulating our systems.“ Yes, they are. The pun writes itself: it’s time to follow your gut