Research

Mixed

Higher fecal short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) levels are associated with gut dysbiosis, increased gut permeability, obesity, and cardiometabolic risk factors, suggesting that high fecal SCFA excretion reflects inefficient absorption rather than health benefits.

High levels of short-chain fatty acids in your stool might not be a sign of a healthy gut; this study links them to obesity and metabolic risks. This suggests your body might not be absorbing these beneficial compounds efficiently. Focus on overall gut health and diversity rather than just maximizing SCFA production, as poor absorption (high fecal SCFA) is a marker of metabolic dysregulation.

GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
In conclusion, higher SCFA excretion was associated with evidence of gut dysbiosis, gut permeability, excess adiposity, and cardiometabolic risk factors.
Jacobo de la Cuesta‐Zuluaga et al. · Nutrients · 2018

Why this rating

Large community-based cohort (N=441), multivariable adjustments for confounders, and consistent findings across multiple SCFAs and health markers.

Source

Higher Fecal Short-Chain Fatty Acid Levels Are Associated with Gut Microbiome Dysbiosis, Obesity, Hypertension and Cardiometabolic Disease Risk Factors

Jacobo de la Cuesta‐Zuluaga et al. · Nutrients · 2018

DOI 10.3390/nu11010051

cross_sectional · n=441Cited 526×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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