There are new butyrate-producing bacteria that play a powerful role in our health. They determine our ability to prevent and reverse diabetes, improve insulin sensitivity, promote fat burn and assist in fighting cancer.

It’s called Akkermansia muciniphila. It was discovered 14 years ago, and healthy levels range from between 1% - 5% of all intestinal bacteria in adults. It plays a critical role in preserving the protective mucus layer that lines the walls of our intestines. It also plays a significant role in ensuring that the polyphenols we eat in plant-based foods are bio-available to our cells. So how effective our bodies are in harvesting the benefits from the veggies and fruits is partly determined by the abundance of this species in our gut.

You can find the level of Akkermansia muciniphila in your gut by reviewing the Probiotic Section of your Digbi Health Gut Biome Report.

Image by Digbi Health

Your coach and personalized gut healthy meal plan will discuss ways to nurture this bacteria in your gut, and as we tend to lose them with age, ways to maintain — and even restore — as we age.

You food photo logs are key for our AI system to develop the right prebiotic food plan and so we urge you to photo log your foods as frequently as you can using the Digbi Health App.

Insulin resistance is the gradual decline of the body’s ability to efficiently metabolize carbs and sugar and burn stored fat for fuel leading to prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.

Insulin resistance is also linked to a range of chronic ills, from obesity, gout, PCOS, Alzheimer's, erectile dysfunction, inflammation to reduced immunity.

Published this week in the journal Science Translational Medicine, the new research found that taking steps to boost A. muciniphila in the gut reduced insulin resistance and promoted sustained weight loss

A 2018 study of cancer patients suggests that Akkermansia plays a role in the immune response. Patients with a greater abundance of Akkermansia in their guts responded significantly better to a new generation of immunotherapy. When researchers took the stool of a patient who responded positively to the cancer-fighting therapy and transplanted it into lab animals with human cancers, the recipient animals became more likely to respond positively to the same treatment.

So what should you do?
Currently, there is no commercially available probiotic supplement that contains Akkermansia muciniphila. The most effective way to increase Akkermansia muciniphila is through consuming prebiotic foods that promote preferential growth of this helpful species - Its like providing the right "fertilizer" for your gut.

Akkermansia can be increased by consuming polyphenol-rich foods, including:

• Pomegranate (attributed to ellagitannins and their metabolites) 14
• Grape polyphenols (grape seed extract) (proanthocyanidin-rich extracts may increase mucus secretion, therefore creating a favorable environment for Akkermansia to thrive) 15 16
• Cranberries 17

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Increasing Akkermansia colonization of the colon can be promoted by the administration of prebiotic substrates, including:

• arabinoxylan 11
• inulin 12

Stay Informed. Stay Healthy!