Research

Energy balance

Butyrate supplementation or increased endogenous production via resistant starch and fiber intake promotes weight management by increasing energy expenditure through AMPK activation and PGC-1α induction, and by reducing energy intake via GLP-1 and PYY secretion.

To leverage butyrate for weight management, focus on increasing your intake of resistant starch and dietary fibers rather than relying solely on supplements. Incorporate foods like cooked-and-cooled potatoes, legumes, and raw bananas into your diet. These substrates feed gut bacteria to produce butyrate, which may help regulate energy expenditure and satiety hormones like GLP-1 and PYY. A clinical trial used 4g of sodium butyrate daily, but dietary modification is the primary natural strategy discussed.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
Butyrate supplementation was found to have multiple metabolic benefits, including prevention of high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity and obesity-associated disorders in the animal model... the mechanism of butyrate action for obesity is related to the activation of AMPK, increasing ATP consumption, and the induction of PGC-1α activity... oral administration of butyrate in mice induces satiety and reduces cumulative food intake... oral butyrate has the capacity to evoke an anorectic response increasing plasma levels of GLP-1... and PYY
Serena Coppola et al. · Molecules · 2021

Why this rating

The paper is a review citing preclinical animal models and a few small human trials; robust large-scale human RCTs are not the primary focus.

Source

The Protective Role of Butyrate against Obesity and Obesity-Related Diseases

Serena Coppola et al. · Molecules · 2021

DOI 10.3390/molecules26030682

narrative_reviewCited 258×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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