Episode 252: The Holy Grail of Gut Health
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The bacterium Akkermansia Muciniphila comprises 1-3% of gut microbiota in healthy adults, and is considered a keystone microbe–some have even referred to it as the potential “holy grail” of improving metabolic diseases. Low levels of Akkermansia are often seen paired together with low levels of secretory IgA, and the reasons behind that demonstrate just how layered and complex our gut health really is.
In today’s conversation, Erin unpacks the reasons why low levels of Akkermansia and SIgA are often seen together, from deficient mucus layers to overall low beneficial bacteria production; the impact of low Akkermansia and SIgA on immune reactions and food sensitivities; how bacteria cross-feed each other and why that’s important for microbiome ecology; and ways to increase Akkermansia to support overall metabolic health.
In this episode:
Manifest Your Health™ beta program launch announced [1:22]
Link between Akkermansia & SIgA [8:08]
How Akkermansia impacts mucus layer of the gut [14:37]
Mucus, SIgA, dendritic cells, and food sensitivities [17:31]
Bacteria cross-feeding in the gut [20:41]
Ways to boost Akkermansia levels [24:00]
Resources mentioned:
National Library of Medicine paper on Akkermansia
The Funk’tional Nutrition Academy™
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Learn more about Functional Nutrition & Gut Health
Related episodes:
Understanding Autoimmunity Series