Industrial formulations are made entirely or mostly from substances extracted from foods (oils, fats, sugar, starch, and proteins), derived from food constituents (hydrogenated fats and modified starch), or synthesized in laboratories from food substrates or other organic sources.
One theory is that these ingredients impair the microbial life in our gut, instead of helping it flourish.
Another theory, outlined in a recent review paper on the effects of the Western diet on the microbiome, is that the sugar in ultraprocessed foods may feed harmful bacteria in th...
Fermentable fibres, which include all soluble fibres and some insoluble fibres, are metabolized or fermented by bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract, producing chemicals, including short-chain fatty acids, that are important food sources for our gut bacteria.