Modern living and our daily choices disrupt our microbiome and compromise our health beyond simple digestive issues.
- Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid that supports the formation of healthy bacteria in the gut.
- Butyrate is important for maintaining the health of the colon cells and has various beneficial effects on the gastrointestinal system.
- It can support the integrity of the intestinal lining, reduce inflammation in the gut, and promote overall digestive health.
- Butyrate creates an environment where cancer cells are not given the conditions they need to thrive.
Butyrate supplementation can be beneficial for individuals who have undergone a colectomy (removal of the colon) or have a non-functioning colon. In these cases, the production of butyrate is significantly reduced.
Supplementing with butyrate can help compensate for the loss of natural production in individuals without a colon as well as those with compromised colon function.
If you are such an individual it is unlikely that you will get enough butyrate from your food sources to be physiologically beneficial, making butyrate supplementation a prudent habit.
Butyrate can be found in resistant starch, which normally comes from the skins of legumes, or under ripe bananas – not foods that are commonly consumed.
For Our Greater Well-Being,
Dr. Steve
P.S. If you have intestinal concerns or are interested in keeping your digestive system healthy, checking butyrate levels as well as other short chain fatty acids can be helpful to assess your need for them.
If you know would like to learn more about enhancing your intestinal health let me know. Feel free to share this with those you know with intestinal concerns.
