The real gut story with aged cheese
Short-chain FFAs like butyric acid are absorbed in the small intestine and used directly as fuel by colonocytes (colon cells) — they don't reach your microbiome intact, but they're bioactive
science
1 min read
The bacterial cultures in cheese (lactobacilli, etc.) are largely killed by stomach acid — aged hard cheeses aren't really probiotic vehicles the way yogurt or kefir are
What does reach the colon is the fat matrix structure — how the fat is encapsulated in the cheese network affects how slowly it's digested, which influences the fermentation environment downstream