Could We Digest Cellulose?

Animals like cows and pigs can digest cellulose thanks to symbiotic bacteria in their digestive tracts, but humans can't. It's important in our diets as source of fiber, in that it binds together waste in our digestive tracts.

Is cellulose resistant to digestion?

Almost every plant has cell walls made from cellulose, which consists of thousands of structurally alternating glucose units (Fig. 1). This configuration gives cellulose its strength but prevents it from interacting with human enzymes.

Do we poop out cellulose?

Your poop also includes some of this indigestible plant matter — like the cellulose in vegetables — with the exact proportions dependent on your diet. Your poop also contains small amounts of your own tissue: intestinal lining cells that were sloughed off during digestion. And, of course, there's water.