What does a fatty acid deficiency cause? Read on to discover the effects of Butyrate deficiency and what to do instead.
What Is Butyrate?
For all the science geeks: Butyrate is the main end product of microbial fermentation of dietary fibers in the human intestine and plays an important role in the maintenance of intestinal balance and overall health.
For those who just want to get to the point: In other words…. It is a fatty acid that is produced by the bacteria in your gut and large intestines.
But, it’s a very special kind of fatty acid because it talks to many systems of the body to maintain balance in your health.
What Foods Contain Butyrate?
- It is found in onions, leeks, garlic, and grass-fed butter.
- 2. Starches, arabinogalactan rich whole grains, and brans from cereals such as wheat, rye and oats. (Please note, I am not a proponent of Wheat, Rye and Oats because they are gluten containing grains and often genetically modified in the USA and heavily sprayed with glyphosate).
- 3. Resistance starches provide Butyrate as well. These are: cooked and cooled rice, cooked and cooled potatoes, green bananas/green banana flour.
- 4. Arabinogalactans can be found in many prebiotic supplements, coming from the Larch Tree.
How To Tell If You Are Low In Butyrate
We can see if someone is low in butyrate on the GI Maps stool test by looking at their good probiotic bacteria:
As mentioned before Clostridia and Faecalibacterium are two major butyrate producing bacteria. Below that you’ll see the “Phyla Microbiota.” These are two main groups of bacteria that all of the microbiome fall under.
I call these the “King” and the “Queen” of the microbiome. They must both be in balance to properly rule the body and create a nice healthy communication between the immune system, gut motility, the brain, thyroid, hormones, blood sugar, etc.
When they are too high or too low that signals an imbalance in the overall microbiome. The person had a low Firmicutes.
Firmicutes is also a MAJOR producer of butyrate, so every which way we look at it, this person is very low in butyrate!
What Impacts Does Butyrate Have In The Body?
These are just a few of the areas that Butyrate (or lack of butyrate) directly influences:
Brain:
Butyrate crosses the blood brain barrier (BBB) and stimulates this healthy brain chemical called “Brain Derived Neurotropic Factor” (BDNF).
BDNF protects the brain from Depression, all neurodegenerative diseases: Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer’s Disease, Huntington’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Ischemic Stroke, and more.
Blood Sugar:
Butyrate has been shown to prevent Diabetes Type 2, Metabolic Syndrome and Insulin Resistance by making the Mitochondria of our cells work better to process sugar and create energy.
Constipation/IBS-C:
Butyrate can stimulate intestinal motility, so if you are low in butyrate you can become constipated!
Colon:
Butyrate provides oxygen to the colon, maintaining proper Ph. This protects the colon from colon cancer and overgrowth of opportunistic bacteria, candida and pathogenic bacteria.
Intestinal Permeability & Leaky Gut:
Butyrate regulates the protein Zonulin which determines when the tight junctions of the gut lining open and close. Leaky gut occurs when the tight junctions are broken open and remain open. To read more on Leaky Gut see this post.
Cellular Inflammation:
Butyrate inactivates NFKb, the master producer of inflammation. People with high NFKb often will have high C-Reactive Protein (CRP).
What If You Can’t Eat The Foods High In Butyrate?
If you can’t eat these foods because they bother your stomach or you have allergies/sensitivities then I suggest supplementation:
My first choice is always Enterovite by Apex Energetics.
Pure Encapsulations also carries a liquid one called SunButyrate. (Please note Nestle acquired Pure Encapsulations a few years ago and I’m not sure if the quality of supplements has been compromised – I have not heard any negative feed-back from customers as of yet.)
Designs For Health has Paleo Fiber RS, which includes several resistance starches (including green banana flour).
In Conclusion
When you eat foods with the right kinds of fibers that your gut bacteria turn into butyrate, there is a systemic effect. It talks to your gut, brain, immune system, thyroid, colon, your CELLS!
If you would like to do the GI Maps stool test the cost is $359 without insurance (HMO insurance & Medicare are not accepted).
With PPO insurance it is $179.
The consultation is $125, and you will receive a detailed report about the results and treatment protocol for your specific needs.
If you wish to buy any of the supplements mentioned, go to: www.kaerwell.com/go/drjack and create an account. Simply enter your email address and the access code “Jack.”
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