Heart disease remains the world's leading cause of death, and the build-up of fatty plaque inside the arteries, known as atherosclerosis, is the process behind most of it.

Statins are the standard tool for managing cholesterol, but they don't halt plaque entirely, and some people experience side effects. So researchers are asking a broader question: what else shapes this process? One answer keeps surfacing. Your gut bacteria.

The researchers wanted to know if fucoidan, the ingredient in DoNotAge.org SIRT6Activator®, could reduce cholesterol by improving gut bacteria.

The study

Researchers worked with rabbits because their cholesterol biology closely mirrors our own, making the findings more likely to carry over to people than if they had used mice.

They triggered artery plaque, then divided the animals into groups: no treatment, a statin alone, fucoidan alone, and fucoidan combined with the statin.

The results were striking. In the untreated animals, plaque covered around 42% of the main abdominal artery. In the group given fucoidan alongside the statin, that fell to roughly 6%. While the combination saw the most improvement, the rabbits given fucoidan alone also saw a drop in cholesterol levels.

Cholesterol and triglycerides improved as well. And the gut bacteria shifted toward a healthier, more diverse mix, which the researchers believe is a central part of how the benefit came about.

What this means for us

Heart health, healthy cholesterol, and a balanced gut microbiome are deeply connected, and they matter more with every passing year. This research points to fucoidan influencing all three, and doing so partly by reshaping the gut rather than through one narrow pathway.

It is early work in animals, so testing in humans is needed before we can be sure the benefits carry over. But it adds to why we include 1600mg of SIRT6Activator®, four capsules' worth, in every sachet of DoNotAge®.

Study reference: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13323129/