The link between SCFAs and weight management
Are you tired of fad diets and feeling hungry all the time?
Do you feel that your metabolism is too slow and no matter what you do, you just can’t keep your weight in check?
Many people have problems controlling their body weight for a variety of reasons, one of which is eating unhealthy food.
The food we eat does have a significant impact on our overall state of health and also our body weight. In fact, there is compelling evidence that a lack of fibre in the diet is a problem that can lead to weight gain and various health problems.
Scientists have now recognised that fibre should be a key part of a person’s diet. Researchers have even found evidence that people who have a high fibre intake have a lower BMI. Overweight is a problem because it is associated with many health problems.
Fibre and microbes
Now, you understand that a high fibre diet means lower risk of health issues… well, the opposite is also true! A lack of fibre in the diet is, in fact, implicated in weight gain.
Researchers have found that the presence of fibre is linked to the type of microbes present in the gut. The microbial fauna are the bacteria that live in your gut which help to digest food and also assist the immune system. In short, healthy microbes are what you need to stay healthy, and having the wrong types of microbes is associated with weight gain and even issues with blood sugar levels.
Your microbiome is essential for good health, since these organisms break down many substances that are otherwise indigestible, and they produce useful fatty acid molecules in the process. Your diet influences what microbes live in your gut, and therefore the types of these fatty acids that are formed. This is because the presence of fibre encourages the growth of beneficial microbes, which produce these helpful molecules called short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs).
The importance of short-chain fatty acids
People today are often too hurried to worry about eating healthy and often choose to eat food that is convenient and low in fibre. Not having enough fibre in the diet means reduced production of the specific SCFA compounds that are important for good health and weight control, such as butyrate, acetate and propionate.
The SCFAs actually help by impacting your hormones and metabolism and are thus important when it comes to managing your body weight and, in turn, keeping you healthy.
In fact, these SCFAs are able to regulate major contributors to weight gain such as hunger and fullness hormones, and blood sugar levels!
Two of these SCFAs, propionate and acetate, are particularly important in the metabolism of fats and sugars. Acetate is the SCFA that actually suppresses appetite, which means that you get hungry less often and feel full sooner while consuming a meal. This process is essential because it helps to prevent overeating – which is an easy thing to do with all of the high sugar, high-salt foods on the market, tricking our taste buds into wanting more!
SCFAs also assist in other processes which are important to managing health and body weight, such as immune regulation and detoxification. Butyrate is particularly well-known for being an immune-regulator, and decreasing levels of inflammation in the body – while, propionate stops liver cells from taking up excess fat from the bloodstream, to ensure a healthy liver for optimal detoxification.
What steps can you take to increase SCFA production?
If you haven’t already guessed – one of the simplest and most important steps you can take to increase the production of SCFAs in the body is by increasing your dietary fibre! You should examine your diet and ask yourself if you are taking in enough fibre – for reference, a minimum of 35g fibre daily is a great goal to aim for.
But wait – aren’t there different types of fibre? Is there a particular kind you should focus on?
Having a variety of fibre is important because each type assists with different processes in the body and helps to support a balanced and diverse microbiome. However, when discussing SCFAs, specifically, a class of fibre known as prebiotic fibre are great for ramping up bacterial SCFA production!
Prebiotic fibre can be found in a variety of natural foods such as onions, leeks and bananas. However, one source in particular, known as yacon root, contains high concentrations of helpful prebiotic fibres called fructooligosaccharides (FOS).
By acting as food for your microbes, FOS have shown in studies to achieve all of the benefits listed above such as weight regulation, inflammatory management, blood sugar control and enhanced detoxification.
Hitting the gym is an essential part of a routine to maintain your health and weight. However, many people underestimate what a huge difference dietary fibre can make! Adding in concentrated sources of the right types of fibre, such as yacon root, can do wonders for complementing your current fitness routine and help you get closer to your health and physique goals, with minimal added effort.
Now that you know the importance of fibre in your diet, there’s no better time to start than today! Remember, a fibre-filled life is a healthy life!
