Are you familiar with Akkermansia?

If not, let’s address the elephant in the room right off the bat; the term Akkermansia sounds more like a foreboding antagonist in a horror film than something you want inside your body.

But just like your mother told you to never judge a book by its cover, never judge a probiotic by its name.

Akkermansia muciniphila is gaining more and more attention for its diverse and vital roles in your gut. The problem is that it’s a bit finicky, which means that not all sources of Akkermansia are viable. 

So let’s dive in and see how this would-be villain is actually the superhero of your gut and explore how you can naturally and effectively increase your levels of Akkermansia.

Why You Want Akkermansia In Your Gut 

Akkermansia is gaining a lot of positive attention in the health and wellness community, with over 3,000 science publications and counting[1][2][3].

Why?  

This strain of probiotics shows promise for everything from healthy weight to balanced blood sugar and a strengthened gut lining. 

By enhancing the production of GLP-1, a peptide hormone, Akkermansia supports insulin release and slows digestion, two crucial activities for healthy people and those with metabolic issues like diabetes[4].

And if that weren’t impressive enough, get a load of what Akkermansia does in your gut…

The “muciniphila” in the Latin name Akkermansia muciniphila translates into “lover of mucin.” Mucin is a glycoprotein that regulates the thickness of the mucosal layer lining the intestines (i.e., the gut lining). Due to its fondness for mucus, Akkermansia feeds on that mucin.

Hold on – I know what you’re thinking. If Akkermansia feeds on mucin, the substance that keeps our gut lining thick and strong, isn’t that a bad thing? 

Nope.

In fact, the more mucin that Akkermansia eats, the more it encourages the epithelial cells to make additional mucin, further strengthening the intestinal wall. Thank you very much, Akkermansia. 

In a healthy gut, Akkermansia makes up to 4% of the total bacteria[5]. Unfortunately, many people are very low or lack Akkermansia altogether. So, how do you improve your levels of this crucial probiotic? That’s where we’re going next. 

How To Increase Akkermansia Levels

So, how do you boost your levels if you’re low in Akkermansia or don’t have any Akkermansia at all? Unfortunately, there are no foods that contain Akkermansia, so you can’t eat your way to increasing this probiotic. 

However, to encourage the growth of Akkermansia, you can eat foods rich in polyphenols, including apples, beans, berries, grapes, flaxseed, green tea, nuts, olives, asparagus, onions, oats, etc. The polyphenols in these foods are considered prebiotics, benefiting the good bacteria in your gut microbiome, like Akkermansia, and promoting a healthy gut[6]. 

But if you really need a significant boost in Akkermansia, the best way to get what you need is through a probiotic supplement. However, that comes with a big caveat – manufacturing Akkermansia muciniphila is incredibly difficult. 

 Akkermansia is an anaerobic organism, which means it can only survive in an environment that is 100% oxygen-free (like your gut). This means that if even a single molecule of oxygen is present during the manufacturing process, the whole batch of Akkermansia dies. Do you see what I mean when I say this strain of probiotics is finicky?

Since most probiotics on the market can tolerate oxygen, for a long time there weren’t any existing manufacturing processes to grow an anaerobic strain such as Akkermansia muciniphila at scale. Luckily, one company figured out how to make it happen.

The team at Pendulum, which consists of scientists and doctors, hired specialized microbiologists to create an oxygen-free manufacturing process from scratch. With their expertise and innovative skills, Pendulum created the only product in the U.S. market containing live Akkermansia.

Now, you may be asking yourself: 

 “How does the Akkermansia muciniphila survive in the capsule? Isn’t it exposed to oxygen there?”

The answer is yes – but late in the manufacturing process, the Akkermansia muciniphila is freeze-dried, which evaporates all the water. At that point, it’s turned into a powder that’s stable at higher temperatures and when exposed to oxygen. The Akkermansia is then encased in a plant-based, acid-resistant, delayed-release capsule so that when a person takes it, the strain gets through the stomach acid and to the gut microbiome, where it can do its job. 

Pretty impressive. 

 But what about the other Akkermansia muciniphila supplements on the market?  

Be careful with results you may find on Google. While other Akkermansia supplements pop up, you should read the ingredients label. Many of these supplements contain fibers that encourage the growth of Akkermansia muciniphila—but they don’t actually contain any live Akkermansia. 

Furthermore, Pendulum holds a patent for Akkermansia in the U.S.; as such, live Akkermansia is only available through their company. 

Takeaway

Research on Akkermansia continues to show incredible promise, and it’s my bet that within the next several years, we’ll learn even more about the importance of this strain of bacteria – particularly when it comes to metabolic health and gut health. 

If you’re looking for a way to boost your levels of Akkermansia, I highly recommend checking out Pendulum Therapeutics. In addition to live Akkermansia, they also offer a range of supplements that can further support gut health, like their Polyphenol Booster and Omega-3 Booster. 

References

1. Zhang, Ting, et al. “Akkermansia muciniphila is a promising probiotic.” Microbial biotechnology 12.6 (2019): 1109-1125.
2. Naito, Yuji, Kazuhiko Uchiyama, and Tomohisa Takagi. “A next-generation beneficial microbe: Akkermansia muciniphila.” Journal of clinical biochemistry and nutrition 63.1 (2018): 33-35.
3. Zhou, Kequan. “Strategies to promote abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila, an emerging probiotics in the gut, evidence from dietary intervention studies.” Journal of functional foods 33 (2017): 194-201.
4. Dao, Maria Carlota, et al. “Akkermansia muciniphila and improved metabolic health during a dietary intervention in obesity: relationship with gut microbiome richness and ecology.” Gut 65.3 (2016): 426-436.
5. Naito, Yuji, Kazuhiko Uchiyama, and Tomohisa Takagi. “A next-generation beneficial microbe: Akkermansia muciniphila.” Journal of clinical biochemistry and nutrition 63.1 (2018): 33-35.
6. Anhê, Fernando F., et al. “Triggering Akkermansia with dietary polyphenols: A new weapon to combat the metabolic syndrome?.” Gut microbes 7.2 (2016): 146-153.