Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid that is made in the large intestine when “good” bacteria break down dietary fiber. This fat then becomes the main source of energy for colonic cells. Proper butyrate levels help to maintain the intestinal gut barrier. Butyrate also regulates intestinal permeability by supporting proper intestinal mucous secretion. As the gut houses about 75% of the body’s immune system, butyrate can thus improve the body’s defenses against infection by keeping the intestinal barrier strong and healthy.
Current research studies indicate that butyrate and/or butyrate-producing bacteria can protect against a host of different conditions, including allergies (1), IBS (2), rheumatoid arthritis (3), Parkinson’s disease (4), hypertension (5), insomnia (6), anxiety (7), type 2 diabetes (8), and long Covid (9). Research also supports the effectiveness of butyrate supplementation in patients with inflammatory bowel disease like Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis. This is likely due to butyrate’s immunomodulating and anti-inflammatory effects (10, 11).
Butyrate levels can drop when we don’t have healthy and balanced intestinal flora. If we don’t have good bacteria in the proper quantities, we will not be able to make sufficient levels of butyrate. Because bacteria make butyrate out of fermentable carbohydrates (also known as fiber), diets lacking in fiber can also lead to low butyrate levels. While butyrate can also be found naturally in foods like butter and ghee, it would be hard to get to therapeutic levels of butyrate eating these high saturated-fat foods without other negative health repercussions.
Butyrate testing can be done through a variety of specialty labs. I most commonly test for butyrate levels using Genova Diagnostic’s GI Effects Comprehensive Panel. Typically, if butyrate levels are low, treatment is aimed at identifying and treating all causes of intestinal inflammation, treating dysbiosis, increasing fiber intake, and probiotic therapies.
Dr. Katie Nuckolls is a naturopathic physician and owner of Thrive GI: Natural Digestive Medicine in Vancouver, Washington. She currently sees patients that live in Washington and Oregon through in-office visits and telemedicine. For more information, visit our contact page or schedule a free 15-minute consultation online.
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41385-022-00524-9
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8942000/
- https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/sciadv.abm1511
- https://movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mds.29128
- https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.06.20.22276673v1.full.pdf
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31065013/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31065013/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34323983/
- https://gut.bmj.com/content/71/3/544
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10221771/
- https://www.gastrojournal.org/article/S0016-5085(20)30105-0/fulltext