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Dr. Mercola's Censored Library (Private Membership)

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Just steve's avatar
Just steve
5d

Big Pharma: This is a great, fast and easy way to lose weight! Public; Okay, so what else might it do? Big Pharma; Well, eh, you can lose inches off the waistline too! Public; Swell, so what else might it do? Does it shut down or tear apart our Gut? Big Pharma; Why would you asked such a thing, didn't well tell you that it helps lose weight, and inches? Public; Might it kill off needed diversity of Gut Microbes to properly absorb nutrition? Big Pharma; Listen, we are the expert's and we already told you it makes you lose weight and inches off your waist, sheesh. Public; Does it affect major organs beyond the Gut itself? Big Pharma; Why would you even think about such things, we are the experts and we agree that we agree it helps lose weight and inches off the waist, what are you doing? Your own research? Public; Yes, it definitely helps lose weight and inches but it seems so many end up looking like a walking skeleton, cadaver, who wants that? Big Pharma; What's the big deal, we got plastic surgeons for that, just take the med! Public; with so many possible extreme affects to the body, might it also cause death in some people? Big Pharma; Dig the wax out of your ears - it - makes - you - lose - weight and inches! DANG! It hard being an expert these days.

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Guillermou's avatar
Guillermou
5d

Health lies in our diet and healthy habits, not in eating junk food and then taking toxic drugs to "digest" it. There is growing evidence of the beneficial effects of dietary fiber intake on human health. Mechanistic research has shown that the physiological functions of different dietary fibers depend largely on their physicochemical characteristics, one of which is solubility. Compared to insoluble dietary fiber, soluble dietary fiber is easily accessible and metabolized by microorganisms that break it down in the gut, producing a range of beneficial and functional metabolites.

In a study based on the significant abundance of potential pathogens, the gut microbiota of the non-vegetarian group showed an abundance of potential pathogens such as Bilophila wadsworthia, Escherichia coli, and E. hermannii, while the vegetarian group's microbiota contained only Klebsiella pneumoniae. These results implied that the gut microbiota of vegetarians, with its high abundance of P. copri and low diversity of potential pathogens, could be a way to maintain good health.

Both polyphenols and dietary fiber play a crucial role in protecting human health and can produce butyrate through fermentation by the gut microbiota. The interaction of polyphenols with dietary fiber affects their bioaccessibility in the upper and lower parts of the digestive tract. Dietary fiber, polyphenols, their conjugates, and their metabolites modulate the population and diversity of the microbiome. Consuming dietary fibers rich in polyphenols, such as pomegranate, cranberry, berries, and tea, improves gut health.

It is important to note that in recent years, our understanding of the mechanisms involved has deepened, highlighting the crucial role of the gut microbiota in this process through the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and other functional metabolites. The decline in dietary fiber intake over centuries has fostered a gut microbiota detrimental to human health, leading to a global epidemic of diabetes, cancer, and other non-communicable diseases. The gut microbiota's response to increased dietary fiber availability can vary depending on the type, level, and duration of intake, demonstrating specific cutoff thresholds for each type of dietary fiber.

Dietary fiber can be classified into three types based on the physiological properties of its resistant carbohydrate polymerization with 3 to 9 monomeric units (MU): 1) non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs) (MU ≥ 10); 2) resistant starches (RS) (MU ≥ 10); and 3) resistant/non-digestible oligosaccharides (ROS) (MU: 3–9). NSPs primarily include cellulose, hemicellulose, pectins, inulin, and various hydrocolloids. Inulin is a fructan containing 2 to 60 fructose units. When MU <10, inulin is also recognized as a fructooligosaccharide (FOS), a well-documented prebiotic. Reactive starches (RS) can be further classified into RS 1 to RS 5, which can be derived from ground grains and seeds (RS 1), raw potatoes, corn, and green plantains (RS 2), cooked and cooled potatoes and corn flakes (RS 3), bakery products (RS 4), and fried rice chips (RS 5). Reactive oxygen species (ROS) consist of 3–9 MU, many of which are named after polymerized monosaccharides, such as galactooligosaccharides (GOS), xylooligosaccharides (XOS), and galactosides. Dietary fibers escape digestion in the upper gastrointestinal tract and are fermented by bacteria in the colon. The degree of polymerization, particle size, solubility, viscosity, and other characteristics of dietary fiber can influence its fermentability and bacterial specificity. Fibers with a low degree of polymerization can degrade into small molecules in the intestine with rapid fermentation; these small particles are more likely to be exposed to microbial enzymes. In contrast, soluble and viscous fibers, with their high water-holding capacity and ability to form stool, and therefore limited exposure to microbes, are resistant to fermentation. The various interactions between monomer chains and enzymes influence bacterial growth, resulting in fiber-specific gut microbiota.

Dietary fibers escape digestion in the upper gastrointestinal tract and are fermented by bacteria in the colon. The degree of polymerization, particle size, solubility, viscosity, and other characteristics of dietary fiber can influence fiber fermentability and bacterial specificity. Fibers with a low degree of polymerization can be broken down into small molecules in the intestine with rapid fermentation; small particles are more likely to be exposed to microbial enzymes. In contrast, soluble and viscous fibers, with a high water-holding capacity and fecal-forming capacity, and therefore limited exposure to microbes, are resistant to fermentation. The various interactions between monomer chains and enzymes influence bacterial growth, resulting in fiber-specific gut microbiota.

Inulin-like fructans (ITFs) were hydrolyzed extracellularly by Bifidobacteria in the human colon, releasing monosaccharides and/or oligosaccharides accessible to butyrate producers, the secondary degraders. During the utilization and metabolism of polysaccharides by bacteria, multiple metabolites were generated, including gases (e.g., H₂, CH₄, CO₂), lactate, succinate, and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs).

The most abundant SCFAs are acetate, propionate, and butyrate. SCFAs can be used by intestinal mucosal cells as energy sources, with butyrate being the preferred energy substrate for colonocytes. Furthermore, absorbed SCFAs are transferred to the circulation via the hepatic portal vein to act as signaling molecules and can activate complex downstream molecular pathways in the liver, brain, lungs, pancreas, bones, adipose tissue, and other organs. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) play crucial regulatory roles in host metabolic homeostasis, immunological processes, maintenance of intestinal barriers, neurobiology, skeletal functions, and the suppression of inflammation and carcinogenesis, and have been shown to be beneficial to human health. SCFAs have multiple beneficial effects on the epithelial, immune, nervous, and vascular systems. A decrease in the production of these metabolites has been linked to several diseases, including intestinal inflammation, diabetes, liver cirrhosis, and atherosclerosis. SCFAs play a crucial role in improving gastrointestinal health by acting locally in the gut. These metabolites help preserve the integrity of the intestinal barrier, which aids in nutrient absorption and blocks pathogens and harmful substances. Hypotheses regarding the possible mechanisms of fiber's anti-inflammatory effects include a direct impact on immune cells (e.g., for pectin), fermentation to short-chain pleiotropic fatty acids (only for fermentable fiber), modulation of the gut microbiome toward greater diversity, changes in bile acid metabolism, differential release of gut hormones (such as glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide [GIP]), and improved insulin resistance. In addition, the contribution of phytate-mediated antioxidant and immunomodulatory mechanisms of action should be considered. The gut microbiota plays a vital role in the synthesis of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, and metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Alterations in the composition of the microbiota are termed dysbiosis, which has been associated with systemic inflammation and chronic stress.

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