Your Gut & Inflammation
Inflammation starts in the gut
70% of your immune system lives in your gut. When the gut barrier weakens ('leaky gut'), bacterial toxins leak into your bloodstream, triggering whole-body inflammation.
Explore the gut-inflammation axis
Tap each factor to learn how it impacts gut health.
This step is interactive — open the Thier app to try it.
The fiber gap
The average adult eats 15g of fiber daily. Optimal is 30-40g. Every 10g increase reduces all-cause mortality by 10%.
Estimate the gap
How many grams of fiber does the average adult eat daily?
This step is interactive — open the Thier app to try it.
Short-chain fatty acids — the gut's longevity payout
When gut bacteria ferment fiber, they produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) — mainly butyrate, propionate, acetate. Butyrate is the colon's preferred fuel and the strongest endogenous anti-inflammatory signal we have: it tightens the gut barrier, dampens NF-κB inflammation, and signals to the brain via the vagus nerve. Diverse fiber sources (resistant starch, legumes, onions, oats, berries) drive higher SCFA production than a single fiber supplement.
Key Takeaway
A healthy gut is your #1 defense against chronic inflammation. Eat 30+ grams of fiber daily from diverse plant sources, and lean toward fermentable fibers (legumes, oats, onions, resistant starch) so your gut bacteria can produce butyrate + the other SCFAs that lower inflammation.