The capsules of butyrate are vegetarian, made from plant cellulose.  The butyrate powder within is enterically coated. Because butyrate has systemic benefits, some must then be absorbed in the upper GI tract. What people look for is to get butyrate to the colon. Here, an approach has been devised to tackle the challenge of butyrate delivery—coating with a vegetable fat, commonly cited as a medium-chain triglyceride.  The rationale behind this is that a significant part of the butyrate will be released only when lipase is secreted in the duodenum.

BodyBio’s butyrates are simply butyrate, a thirteen-atom complex joined to an alkali. Butyric acid, butyrate and tributyrin are ingredients you may see in this category of supplements- same purpose, different characteristics. We use butyric acid aka butanoic acid, a short chain fatty acid with four carbon atoms at its heart (found in butter, hence its name). As an acid, it has a low pH so we compound it with an alkali, a combination that forms a salt + water.  At this stage, we no longer have butyric acid, but butyrate, a buffered form of butyric acid.

Yes, and we do not use any additives or fillers to mask the scent. Butyrate is quite infamous for its scent because it is a molecule naturally produced by the body to feed colon cells. We create butyrate exactly as it’s formed in the colon - through the bacterial fermentation of resistant starch. In its organic state, butyric acid is surrounded by the body’s unwanted debris. So, naturally, it doesn’t smell good. Substances sometimes added to butyrate in order to control its aroma interfere with butyrate’s character. 

No, Butyrate is not bacteria but a short chain fatty acid (SCFA) made in the lower colon by bacteria and taken up by the colonocytes, the cells that line the colon. It then becomes an important food for those cells. Lacking good bacteria in our colon, such as when we take antibiotics, can lead to an insufficient supply of butyrate.

It is unlikely that you 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 underripe bananas - not foods that are commonly consumed. Learn more about Butyrate in Foods in this blog post.

These diets can be deficient in fiber & resistant starch and therefore, low in butyrate if proper dietary guidelines are not followed. When a paleo diet is properly followed, an individual should be consuming between 9-12 cups of phytonutrient and fiber rich plant foods including, green plantains, green bananas, sunchokes, artichokes, cooked and cooled potatoes, etc. in order to produce ample levels of butyrate. The problems arise when individuals focus on animal protein and fat while neglecting these plant foods/fibers. 

9 cups of vegetables contain roughly 72 grams of fiber. Remember, we must also consider the health of the individual's microbiome. This factor will also influence butyrate production. 

The ability for your body to synthesize butyrate depends on several factors. Dietary fiber and resistant starch intake are critical, but we also need a plethora of commensal bacteria to ferment the fiber that we eat and synthesize it into butyrate, acetate, and propionate. The state of the microbiome, the impact of drugs, alcohol, etc. factors into each individual's ability to produce short chain fatty acids like butyrate. 

Chronic over nutrition via processed, nutrient void foods high in energy, fat and sugar is the norm amongst the majority of North Americans. This dietary regimen creates a situation where gut health is greatly compromised and therefore, butyrate production is greatly impaired. One cannot go wrong eating a nutrient dense diet filled with high quality animal protein and colorful, fiber rich foods. 

It is important to note that most studies on butyrate are done via butyrate supplementation. Regardless of whether you are making adequate butyrate in the gut, we don't think you can go wrong by supporting your body with a top up of butyrate through supplementation. Butyrate supplementation has been showing to support a healthy gut inflammation response, improve gut integrity, inhibit histone deacetylase, blunt NF-Kappa B down, regulate activated microglia cells, and improve the gut/brain axis.