Did you know that the average human body contains anywhere from 2 to 5 pounds of bacteria?

While that might sound rather gross at first glance, the truth is, these microscopic organisms that call our bodies home are wildly important to our well-being. You see, while they depend on us to survive – we also depend on them to survive.

Today we’re going to explore one of these microorganisms known as akkermansia muciniphila. We’ll dive into how these tiny bacteria can influence your metabolic health, why it’s crucial for your gut, and most importantly – how you can get more of this paramount probiotic in your life.

What exactly are probiotics?

Your gut is home to trillions of microscopic organisms that create a delicate ecosystem known as your microbiome. Within this microbiome are thousands of different species of bacteria. Each strain of bacteria works alongside your own cells in specific ways that keep your body functioning. This mutually beneficial relationship depends on friendly beneficial bacteria known as probiotics.

There are dozens of different probiotics – all possessing crucial and distinct properties that benefit your health. Now let’s zoom in on akkermansia muciniphila and explore the role it plays in your microbiome.

What is akkermansia muciniphila? 

Before we dive into the details about akkermansia muciniphila, let’s do a quick review of your gut anatomy. Your intestinal lining is made up of a layer of epithelial cells covered with a layer of mucus. This layer of mucus is chock-full of a protein called mucin that creates a slippery gel-like coating. This mucus plays a crucial role in your gut health because it houses your beneficial bacteria and acts as a filter to allow “good” substances through while keeping “bad” substances from entering your bloodstream.

Akkermansia muciniphila is a strain of bacteria that lives in and feeds on this mucus layer that lines your gut. In fact, that’s why the term “mucin” is right in this little bacteria’s name. Akkermansia muciniphila’s ability to survive and thrive by munching on the proteins in your intestinal mucus has several significant benefits:¹

By feeding on your mucin reserves, akkermansia muciniphila doesn’t necessarily depend on you to feed them – they can survive and thrive even if there are no nutrients in your gut.

Akkermansia muciniphila feed on mucin and break it down into short-chain fatty acids which are vital nutrients to other beneficial bacteria that live in your gut.

By consuming mucin in your gut, akkermansia muciniphila encourages your intestinal cells to produce more mucus – strengthening your gut barrier and aiding in modulating your immune system.

Now let’s take a look at how these benefits translate into your health on a larger scale.

Role of probiotics in gut health and weight loss

In a nutshell, akkermansia muciniphila’s most prominent health benefits include boosting your gut health and supporting metabolic balance. While gut health and metabolic health might seem unrelated at first glance, the truth is, your gut health has a monumental impact on your body’s ability to regulate your blood sugar and body fat.

So how exactly do probiotics like akkermansia muciniphila impact your metabolism and overall metabolic health? While researchers still don’t entirely understand, it’s believed akkermansia muciniphila regulates your metabolic function in a couple of ways, including:^2,3,4

Reducing inflammation: By bolstering your intestinal lining, akkermansia muciniphila keeps toxins and harmful microbes out, reducing overall inflammation. This reduction in inflammation also prevents your immune system from getting stuck in the “on” position. This means your immune system has time to adequately rest so when the time comes it can swiftly and effectively address any threats. 

Enhancing communication between gut microbes and your own cells: Your gut microbiome directly influences how your own cells function – meaning these microbes can have a huge influence on your hormonal balance and even gene expression. When you have an imbalanced microbiome, it can negatively shift your body into a state of metabolic dysfunction. A healthy population of akkermansia muciniphila helps support cellular communication and hormonal balance.

Increasing insulin sensitivity: Akkermansia muciniphila produces short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate, propionate, and acetate. These SCFAs positively impact blood glucose homeostasis – helping your body respond better to insulin and keeping blood sugars stabilized.

Promoting microbial diversity: A healthy and abundant population of akkermansia muciniphila can be used as a keystone marker of microbiome diversity. This is important because microbial diversity is an essential component of a healthy gut and balanced metabolism. Akkermansia mucinphila’s ability to produce SCFAs that other probiotics feed on combined with its ability to bolster the mucus lining your gut gives other strains of bacteria a safe place to live.

Thanks to these powerful effects, supplementation with akkermansia muciniphila is showing promising results as a treatment to improve metabolic health. Now let’s take a little deeper look at akkermansia muciniphila’s ability to increase beneficial SCFAs. 

Short chain fatty acid and butyrate producing probiotic benefits 

Akkermansia muciniphila’s ability to improve your health works double time. Not only does this little bacteria have some incredible benefits on its own, but it’s also a major producer of short-chain fatty acids – a type of molecule that has its own laundry list of health benefits.

You see, when probiotics like akkermansia muciniphila break down and ferment undigested fiber, they can yield a number of health-promoting compounds – some of which are SCFAs like butyrate, acetate, and propionate. 

Short-chain fatty-acids may originate in your gut, but their health benefits can extend throughout every cell of your body and include:⁵

Improved gut health: SCFAs beef up your intestinal lining and promote mucin and mucus production while regulating blood flow and motility in your digestive tract.

Enhanced immune function: SCFAs minimize oxidative stress, suppress the activity of certain pro-inflammatory immune cells, and modulate the expression of various inflammatory signaling pathways. 

Increased nutrient absorption: SCFAs have a powerful impact on how nutrients are absorbed in your body – enabling the metabolism of glucose, cholesterol, and lipids. 

Better brain health: SCFAs help maintain your blood-brain barrier and protect your brain and nervous system from neurodegeneration. 

To learn more about all of the incredible health-boosting benefits of SCFAs, head over and check out my article Short-Chain Fatty Acids: How to Maximize Their Benefits.

So, should I be taking an akkermansia muciniphila supplement?

Just about everyone can benefit from taking a probiotic supplement. And akkermansia muciniphila is certainly one of the best probiotics for weight loss, restoring gut health, and overall well-being. So if you’re interested in showing your gut some extra love, one of the best ways is to add in an akkermansia muciniphila probiotic along with taking steps to keep your gut in tip-top shape.

If you need some help figuring how to best support your gut health, I’ve got you covered. Here are a few of my best articles to get you started on optimizing the health of your gut:

• How to Heal Your Gut for a Stronger Immune System
• 9 Simple Steps to Heal Leaky Gut Syndrome Fast
• Do Neurodegenerative Diseases Actually Begin in the Gut?

By combining some lifestyle tweaks that support a healthy gut and incorporating some beneficial probiotics, like akkermansia muciniphila, you can have a major impact on your gut health and overall well-being

Where can I find an akkermansia muciniphila supplement

There are a couple of ways I recommend boosting your akkermansia muciniphila levels which include:

Reinoculating your gut with an akkermansia muciniphila supplement 

Firstly, you can reinoculate your gut with healthy levels of this crucial bacteria by taking a simple akkermansia muciniphila probiotic. But when it comes to supplements, not all brands are created equally. It’s imperative to ensure you’re getting top-notch quality probiotics that are designed to survive the manufacturing process as well as the arduous journey through your digestive tract.

If you’re looking for a quality akkermansia muciniphila supplement, I recommend Pendulum’s akkermansia muciniphila probiotics. Pendulum’s team of scientists has created a unique manufacturing process to create viable akkermansia muciniphila bacteria that are delivered straight to your gut.

Adding in spore-forming probiotics

Spore-forming probiotics are specific strains of bacteria that are naturally found scattered throughout our environment – like in soil, dirt, water, and vegetation. We are designed to regularly ingest these outside probiotics through the food and water we consume. These spore-forming probiotics play a critical role in supporting a healthy and diverse microbiome. 

One way in which spore-forming probiotics accomplish this, is by supporting and promoting a healthy population of akkermansia muciniphila. Some of the best spore-forming probiotic supplements that I use and recommend include:

• Megaspore: This pharmaceutical-grade probiotic supplement contains patented probiotic strains clinically proven to increase antioxidant production in the gut.
• RestorFlora: This combination of beneficial yeast and bacteria offers a comprehensive dual-action approach to support your digestive flora and a healthy intestinal environment.
• HU58: This high potency dose of Bacillus subtilis HU58 is specifically formulated to enhance the efficacy of MegaSporeBiotic by producing over 12 targeted antibiotics in the intestines –  making it particularly effective in balancing your microbiome.
• Spore probiotic with IG: This spore-based, broad-spectrum probiotic combined with serum-derived bovine immunoglobulins is designed to promote healthy gut flora, and protect gut integrity, while binding to and eliminating harmful microbes and toxins – particularly those common in SIBO.

Adding in a healthy dose of spore-forming probiotics along with an akkermansia muciniphila supplement can pack a powerful punch when it comes to supporting a flourishing gut microbiome.

Incorporating probiotic-boosting prebiotics

Once the probiotic supplements make their way to your gut, it’s crucial to ensure they have plenty of fuel to survive and thrive. So I also suggest taking a prebiotic (a type of fiber these gut bacteria feed on) to ensure you keep your new population of friendly bacteria alive and well. I recommend MegaPrebiotic – a prebiotic clinically proven to support a diverse microbiome and selectively feed keystone bacteria like akkermansia muciniphila.

Ready to take your health to the next level?

Your gut health is one of the fundamental pillars that make up your overall health. If your gut isn’t healthy, you can bet your bottom dollar that this imbalance extends to the rest of your body as well. So taking steps to optimize your gut health and adding in pivotal probiotics like akkermansia muciniphila is a simple and powerfully effective way to keep your gut happy and healthy. 

I always say, when it comes to your health, you are your own best advocate. The choices you make on a daily basis are hands down the most powerful factors that determine your health today and in the future.