What's the deal with butyrate?

Have you heard about butyrate?

Most people would answer NO to this - we'd never even heard of it until a few years ago!!

Yet it's a vital part of gut and immune health, and incredibly simple to target as a method to improve both gut health, and overall health

Butyrate is one of several short chain fatty acids (SCFA), these are molecules made in the large intestine by our gut microbes when they digest certain types of food. Its actually the least common SCFA (others include acetate and propionate) but it's the most researched, and has significant health benefits.

Butyrate is thought to be one of the KEY reasons plant foods are so protective against bowel cancer, inflammation, gut disease, mental health problems, and dementia.

Its formed when fibre (which the body cant digest), passes through into the large bowel, where its fermented by bacteria. The fermentation process produces butyrate (among other things) - and as fibre is almost solely found in plants, the more plants you eat, the more butyrate you tend to produce!

Butyrate is the main energy source for your gut cells, and also helps produce the mucus layer that lines and protects the gut wall. High levels of  butyrate mean a gut that is resistant to damage, can heal inflammation, and can effectively provide a barrier to unwanted food and microbes getting into the body (aka leaky gut)

Butyrate also:

✔️helps regulate immune function in the gut wall, improving immune defences

✔️helps stabilise blood sugars and may reduce appetite, promoting a healthy weight and better metabolic function, via enhancing secretion of hormones (PYY and GLP-1)

✔️protects against inflammatory bowel disease and bowel cancer

✔️enhances brain growth, neuroplasticity, and BDNF (brain 'boosting' hormone), and may protect against dementia and strokes

✔️strengthens blood brain barrier (protects brain)

✔️increases levels of healthy gut bacteria (via creating beneficial environment)

Butyrate even binds directly to our vagus nerve, promoting better mental health and reduced levels of anxiety, depression and stress!

Increasing butyrate is simple - eat as much plant based fibre as you can, and aim for diversity!!

Foods that particularly help butyrate are:

✔️prebiotics (ie onion, garlic, apples), veges legumes, and whole grains

✔️resistant starch - formed by cooking then cooling foods like potato, brown pasta, and brown rice

Diets high in fat and high in refined carbs can reduce butyrate so aim for most of your diet to be whole plant foods

Think of feeding your gut bacteria - they'll love you for it!!!