2/4/2022
A long time ago I wrote a series on butyrate because I believed it to be very valuable for health. Supposedly decreased cancer, decreased diabetes, decreased obesity, decreased leaky gut, improved brain health, and so much more–and now improved COVID outcomes. My sister sent me an article about it the other day.
I no longer think about butyrate and resistant starch routinely, but I have developed simple habits that add buytrate-producing foods to my family’s diet each day. I wanted to share them with you and remind you to keep at food for health. I don’t know who you are reading this, but I would like you to be healthy and feel good inside and out (emotionally, spiritually, and physically). When a person feels good, they can share that true joy and it survives bumps and potholes in the road.
Simple Tricks to Add Butyrate-Producing Foods to a Diet
Eat a plain green banana.
Freeze some green bananas (I peel them.) and then use them in smoothies.
Use a green banana in banana bread. (I replace one brown banana with a green banana in the recipe. It gives it a very nice texture my kids like.)
Toss some beans onto a salad.
Toss some beans into taco meat.
Eat chili with multi-colored beans.
Eat hummus.
Bake lots of potatoes ahead of time, then eat them reheated or slice them and fry them with onions for fried potatoes.
Baked beans.
Make a big batch of rice, and then use the leftovers for fried rice.
Toss green peas into anything you can: a salad, vegetable soup, fried rice.
Serve green peas as a quick side dish.
Toss nuts onto salads, onto hummus, into fried rice.
Eat a handful of nuts.
Note: Plantains are a wonderful source of butyrate-producing plant matter! You need to be a bit more adventurous to learn to cook them, but they are a real treat we love. Raw oats and corn tortillas are also high, so if you like those and they cause no problems, go for it. My kids tend to eat oats and corn frequently, but I find they’re not pleasing to my body in various ways I try to respect. Whole grain breads are also a rich source, but I hesitate to encourage bread because there are so many additives to it–and it often replaces vegetables and fruits calorically in many people’s diets.
Closing
It’s January, and a VERY hard month for those who live in winter-producing climates. You have to be tenacious and proactive to keep healthy in winter. Move. Reduce sugar. Cut down on breads and grains and comfort foods. Give yourself grace. Give yourself a kick in the butt. But please don’t top trying. Find a path that works for you.
Eat real, whole food as most of your food intake. Please. Please. Please.
Don’t get bogged down in the dogma and the institutions and the fundamentalism and the indoctrination and the propaganda. These things can really confuse you and overwhelm you. Keep it simple. Real, whole food. Take note of your body. Eat real, whole food and see how you do. Adjust foods as necessary.
Don’t forget to add the simple and easy butyrate-producing foods to your diet, which studies suggest will help you out. Decreased cancer. Decreased diabetes. Decreased long-COVID. But keep it simple.
Eat real food to live.
Terri F.
Article my sister sent me:
Long COVID: Gut bacteria may be key
The HSD 