Butyrate — A Tiny Molecule with Big Potential for Health and Healing
Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health
Briana Mercola
4.6 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 13 January 2026
⏱️ 8 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
- Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) produced when gut bacteria ferment dietary fiber. It provides energy for colon cells and offers health benefits beyond basic nutrition
- Research suggests butyrate helps manage inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) by reducing inflammation, improving symptoms and strengthening gut barrier integrity
- Laboratory studies show butyrate helps inhibit cancer cell growth and trigger cell death in colorectal cancer cells, with clinical trials exploring its use alongside traditional treatments
- Butyrate has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism in metabolic disorders, while also influencing appetite-regulating hormones
- Studies show butyrate protects against neurodegenerative diseases by reducing brain inflammation and enhancing neuronal repair and survival
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | What if a molecule your gut makes from fiber could calm inflammation, steady your blood sugar, |
| 0:06.8 | guard your brain, and even help your colon resist cancer? |
| 0:10.4 | Welcome to Dr. Mercola's cellular wisdom. Stay informed with quick, easy-to-listen summaries of our |
| 0:16.0 | latest articles, perfect for when you're on the go. No reading required. Subscribe for free |
| 0:20.7 | at Mercola. Subscribe for free at |
| 0:20.8 | Mercola.com for the latest health insights. Hello and welcome to Dr. |
| 0:25.4 | Mercola's cellular wisdom. I'm Ethan Foster. Today we're examining beauty rate, |
| 0:30.9 | a short chain fatty acid, your gut bacteria produce when they ferment fiber, |
| 0:36.1 | and why its influence reaches far beyond basic nutrition. |
| 0:40.3 | I'm Alara Sky. |
| 0:42.3 | Butyrate powers the cells lining your colon, up to 70% of their energy, while also strengthening |
| 0:48.3 | your gut barrier, lowering inflammation, and supporting immune balance. |
| 0:53.3 | Your capacity to make it hinges on a resilient microbiome, which can be disrupted by toxins |
| 0:59.5 | and poor dietary patterns that starve buterate-producing organisms. |
| 1:04.5 | Let's start with inflammatory bowel disease. |
| 1:07.8 | In conditions like Crohn's and ulcerative colitis, people often lose both |
| 1:11.9 | buterate-producing microbes and the ability to use buterate effectively. Receptors that help |
| 1:17.5 | absorb it are down-regulated, and inflammatory signals such as TNF-Alpha suppress buterate oxidation |
| 1:24.1 | in intestinal cells, compounding symptoms. That shortage ripples into signaling pathways. |
| 1:30.6 | Reduced buterate weakens aural hydrocarbon receptor activity, |
| 1:34.5 | which normally boosts IL-22 to protect your epithelium. |
| 1:38.9 | Experimental models show activating this pathway shields against colitis, |
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