Butyrate: Unlocking the Secrets to Digestive Health

Interest in the human microbiome continues to grow as research uncovers the many ways it affects our health. Among the compounds produced by the microbes in our gut, short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) play a particularly important role. These include acetate, propionate, and butyrate—each with unique benefits. Butyrate has been widely studied for its impact on digestive function, immunity, and even brain health. This article explores what butyrate is, how it's made in the gut, and why supporting its production—alongside other SCFAs—could be a valuable part of a long-term health strategy.

Butyrate influences immune balance, helps regulate inflammation, and may support brain function via the gut-brain axis. It can affect gene activity in immune and epithelial cells and supports the development of regulatory T cells. These functions position SCFAs as key modulators of both local and systemic health

The Role of Butyrate in Digestive Health

Butyrate is a type of SCFA produced when certain microbes in the large intestine ferment dietary fibres that our bodies can’t digest. It acts as the main energy source for the cells lining the colon and plays a crucial role in keeping that lining strong and intact.

A healthy gut lining helps prevent inflammation by blocking potentially harmful substances from crossing into the bloodstream. Butyrate also has a calming effect on inflammation within the colon and supports healing in conditions like ulcerative colitis. (MDPI, 2024) By travelling throughout the body, it can also assist in reducing inflammation throughout the body - not just in the gut!

How SCFAs Support Whole-Body Health

In addition to butyrate, the SCFAs acetate and propionate are also produced through microbial fermentation and have their own important roles. Acetate is the most abundant SCFA and serves as a substrate (food) for producing cholesterol (vital for making our steroid hormones like cortisol, oestrogen and testosterone amongst others!) and making fats (lipogenesis) in peripheral tissues for warmth, energy and protection. It also crosses the blood-brain barrier and may play a role in appetite regulation. (Liu et al., 2021)

Propionate primarily acts in the liver where it supports glucose production (gluconeogenesis) and stops cholesterol synthesis. It also contributes to satiety by stimulating the release of peptide YY (PYY) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which help regulate appetite and insulin sensitivity. (Chambers et al., 2015)

Butyrate influences immune balance, helps regulate inflammation, and may support brain function via the gut-brain axis. It can affect gene activity in immune and lining (epithelial) cells and supports the development of regulatory T cells for healthy immune function. These functions position SCFAs as key modulators of both local and systemic health. (MDPI, 2023)

The Importance of Microbial Diversity and Abundance

The production of SCFAs depends on the presence of a diverse and stable gut microbial community. Species like Faecalibacterium, Roseburia, Eubacterium, Akkermansia, and Bacteroides contribute to SCFA production, often through complex cross-feeding interactions with other microbes.

Diet, antibiotic exposure, stress, and environmental factors can all disrupt microbial diversity and lower SCFA output. Maintaining microbial variety through a broad-spectrum fibre-rich diet (eat the rainbow!) helps support the network of organisms involved in SCFA metabolism. (Springer, 2020)

Strategies to Increase SCFA Production Naturally

To support SCFA production, focus on a diet high in fermentable fibres. This includes resistant starches (from cooked and cooled potatoes or rice), inulin (found in leeks, onions, and garlic), and pectin (from apples and citrus fruits).

Fermentation of these fibres by specific microbes leads to increased acetate, propionate, and butyrate levels. Some individuals benefit from prebiotic supplementation, though responses can vary. Symptoms like bloating may indicate an imbalance that warrants a more targeted approach. (Nourish Me Organics Podcast)

Polyphenols, found abundantly in dark red, purple and black-coloured fruits and vegetables as well as green tea, also support SCFA production. These compounds can modulate the gut environment by promoting the growth of beneficial microbes and enhancing fermentation processes. Research suggests that polyphenols not only increase microbial diversity but may specifically encourage butyrate-producing species, contributing further to gut and systemic health  (Frontiers in Nutrition, 2021)

The Role of Practitioner Support & Testing

While increasing fibre intake supports SCFA production for many people, it’s not universally suitable—especially for those with functional gut disorders or microbial imbalances like SIBO, IBS or those with more serious gut conditions such as inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis. Self-treating can sometimes result in a worsening of symptoms with even the most benign interventions. Fibres are crucial to improving microbial health, but sometimes need to be staged, introduced slowly or other strategies to improve mucosal linings, or other aspects of digest health, first.

Testing can be really helpful in some cases identifying a clear treatment strategy, and sometimes an expense that can be avoided. No matter how accurate a test is, it is only ever a snapshot in time - and if it’s not interpreted in the context of signs and symptoms (at that time!) it is not useful. A practitioner with experience can take a comprehensive case history of signs and symptoms which can sometimes be more useful and mean treatment can start immediately. It just depends on the patient.

Many people will try remedies from the internet that cause further harm, before they seek the help they really need! Killing ‘the bad bacteria’ is old thinking because, much like antibiotics many of these products also kill the beneficial species, too!

Conclusion

SCFAs—including butyrate, acetate, and propionate—are vital to digestive and systemic health. Produced by the gut microbiota from dietary fibres, they influence gut integrity, immune regulation, metabolism, and even cognitive function.

Supporting their production through dietary diversity, polyphenol intake, and targeted clinical strategies can help maintain a resilient and responsive gut ecosystem.

And, if you need help improving your health - whether it’s the health of your digestive system, or anything affected by it (yes, everything!), then I’m here to help.

Click on the button below to book yourself a free 15 min chat, and you can decide if I am the practitioner for you.

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Note: This blog post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Consult a healthcare professional for personalized recommendations.

References

• Liu, H., Wang, J., He, T., Becker, S., Zhang, G., Li, D., & Ma, X. (2021). Butyrate: A double-edged sword for health? Advances in Nutrition.https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-25952-6

• Chambers, E. S., Viardot, A., Psichas, A., et al. (2015). Effects of targeted delivery of propionate to the human colon on appetite regulation, body weight maintenance and adiposity in overweight adults. Nature Communications.

• Beyond the Gut: Unveiling Butyrate’s Global Health Impact Through Gut Microbiota. Nutrients, 2023.

• Health-Improving Effects of Polyphenols on the Human Intestinal Microbiota. Frontiers in Nutrition, 2021.

• The Role of Short-Chain Fatty Acids of Gut Microbiota Origin in Cardiovascular Disease and Hypertension. Current Hypertension Reports, 2020.

• Chambers, E. S., Viardot, A., Psichas, A., et al. (2015). Effects of targeted delivery of propionate to the human colon on appetite regulation, body weight maintenance and adiposity in overweight adults. Nature Communications, 6, 8611. https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms8611

• den Besten, G., van Eunen, K., Groen, A. K., Venema, K., Reijngoud, D. J., & Bakker, B. M. (2013). The role of short-chain fatty acids in the interplay between diet, gut microbiota, and host energy metabolism. Journal of Lipid Research, 54(9), 2325–2340.

• Facchin, S., Bertin, L., Bonazzi, E., Lorenzon, G., De Barba, C., Barberio, B., Zingone, F., Maniero, D., Scarpa, M., Ruffolo, C., Angriman, I., & Savarino, E. V. (2024). Short-Chain Fatty Acids and Human Health: From Metabolic Pathways to Current Therapeutic Implications. Life, 14(5), 559. https://doi.org/10.3390/life14050559

• Sivaprakasam, S., Prasad, P. D., & Ganapathy, V. (2016). Short-chain fatty acid transporters: Role in colonic homeostasis. Comprehensive Physiology, 8(1), 299–314.

• Maiuolo, J., Bulotta, R. M., Ruga, S., Nucera, S., Macrì, R., Scarano, F., Oppedisano, F., Carresi, C., Gliozzi, M., Musolino, V., Mollace, R., Muscoli, C., & Mollace, V. (2024). The Postbiotic Properties of Butyrate in the Modulation of the Gut Microbiota: The Potential of Its Combination with Polyphenols and Dietary Fibers. International journal of molecular sciences, 25(13), 6971.

• Can I just take a butyrate supplement?

  Sadly, that would be a waste of your money if you could. It’s actually more important to have the microbial species that make the butyrate that to have the butyrate for a short term. You need to have a continuous source to maintain the benefits, and research has shown that it needs to be in the appropriate proportions alongside acetate and propionate to be beneficial. Nature always has the most efficient way of taking care of itself.

• How can I make more butyrate?

  If your gut health and digestion are optimal, then it can be as simple as eating a more diverse range of fibres that include:

  • Inulin - in onions, leeks, garlic, shallots

  • Pectin - in fruit like apples, stone-fruit and citrus fruits

  • Resistant starch - cooked and then cooled, potatoes, rice and wholegrain pasta.

  If you have any kind of digestive disturbance, then doing it yourself can sometimes cause more problems than it solves. An experienced gut-health naturopath can help identify and treat issues strategically. Sometimes, it’s necessary to heal the gut first and then introduce fibres in a slow and/or staged manner.
  
  

• How to reduce bloating or reflux with butyrate

  Symptoms like bloating, reflux, indigestion, smelly flatulence, diarrhoea and constipation are all signs of a disrupted microbiome. Restoring microbial balance can be tricky, because part of this is identifying what caused the disruption in the first place - the root cause.
  
  Butyrate, acetate and propionate are short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) which are produced by some of the beneficial microbes of the gut. When they are in the appropriate ratios they can improve many aspects of health including digestive health.

  Butyrate appears to have the greatest range of benefits, and is the most widely researched.

  Increasing butyrate producing species can be achieved by incorporating a broad range of plant-based fibres into the diet - but a caution - if you have digestive upset then take it slowly and carefully as too much or too fast can make things worse! Working with an experienced gut-health naturopath can help you get there faster, and with less discomfort along the way.

• Does resistant starch help increase butyrate?

  Research in the last few years has identified that when starches like potatoes, rice and pasta is cooked and then cooled, it alters the structure of the starch molecules. This change in structure means that the starch molecules aren’t absorbed in the same way - they bypass metabolism (so, can be great for weightloss) and arrive intact in the gut. It is here that resistant starch feeds species such as Faecalibacterium, Roseburia, Eubacterium, Akkermansia, and Bacteroides responsible for making butyrate.
  It’s like a feast arrives, ensuring that these microbes can thrive and continue to produce the by-products that we need for health!
  And for bonus points… leave the skins on the potatoes (and make them the purple ones!), make the rice brown, and the pasta wholemeal. This way you are giving the beneficial microbes ALL the treats they love!