Does my microbiota help me digest?
Lay public section
Find here your dedicated section
About this article
Here's a quick look at how Prof. Sokol answers this question from his patients
The microbiota plays a special role in the digestion of plant fibers that are present in fruits and vegetables. These fibers are long sugar molecules that our human enzymes are unable to break down into pieces.
They thus arrive intact at the colon where they encounter a large number of bacteria that are capable of digesting them. The bacteria use these fibers for their own needs and release very important molecules for human health, (sidenote: Short chain fatty acids (SCFA) Short chain fatty acids (SCFA) are a source of energy (fuel) for an individual’s cells. They interact with the immune system and are involved in communication between the intestine and the brain. Silva YP, Bernardi A, Frozza RL. The Role of Short-Chain Fatty Acids From Gut Microbiota in Gut-Brain Communication. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2020;11:25. ) , such as butyrate, for example.
These short-chain fatty acids have multiple effects. Butyrate nourishes the cells of the colon and thus promotes the integrity of the (sidenote: De Cruz P, Kamm MA, Hamilton AL, et al. Crohn’s disease management after intestinal resection: a randomised trial. The Lancet. 2015;385(9976):1406–1417 ) . Short-chain fatty acids can modulate the immune response and thus contribute to protection against inflammatory diseases.
