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Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), is a known risk factor for the development of colorectal cancer (CRC), like colitis-associated colorectal cancer (CAC) 51, the third leading cause of cancer-related death in humans 52. The number of A. muciniphila in healthy individuals is higher than that in IBD patients 53, 54 (Supplementary Table 1), especially in the hindgut 55. The relative abundance of A. muciniphila can be as high as 2.9% in healthy populations, but is found to sharply decline in noninflamed UC (0.03%), inflamed UC (0.02%), noninflamed CD (0.62%), and inflamed CD (0.20%) patients 56. Moreover, A. muciniphila are more abundant in CD patients than in UC patients 54, 56. Not all FODMAPs are health-promoting. Here is a list of some common foods and ingredients that are high in health-promoting FODMAPs that can promote the growth of A. muciniphila : 10 Bolte, L. A. et al. Long-term dietary patterns are associated with pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory features of the gut microbiome. Gut 70, 1287–1298 (2021). Kim, Y. et al. Dietary cellulose prevents gut inflammation by modulating lipid metabolism and gut microbiota. Gut microbes 11, 944–961 (2020). Johansson, M.E.V.; Sjövall, H.; Hansson, G.C. The gastrointestinal mucus system in health and disease. Nat. Rev. Gastroenterol. Hepatol. 2013, 10, 352–361. [ Google Scholar] [ CrossRef]Zhang, H. et al. White blood cell subtypes and risk of type 2 diabetes. J. Diabetes Complicat. 31, 31–37 (2017). Callahan, B. J. et al. DADA2: high-resolution sample inference from Illumina amplicon data. Nat. Methods 13, 581–583 (2016). Zhang, X. et al. Human gut microbiota changes reveal the progression of glucose intolerance. PLoS ONE 8, e71108 (2013). Twig, G. et al. White blood cells count and incidence of type 2 diabetes in young men. Diabetes Care 36, 276–282 (2013).

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Lopez-Siles, M. et al. Alterations in the Abundance and Co-occurrence of Akkermansia muciniphila and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii in the Colonic Mucosa of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Subjects. Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol. 8, 281 (2018). Berberine is an alkaloid found in many plants, notably in goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) and barberry (Berberis vulgaris ). Berberine exerts significant beneficial effects on digestive health and the microbiome, including increasing the levels of A. muciniphila . This effect partially explains its positive results seen in berberine supplementation in clinical trials in improving blood sugar, promoting weight management, supporting normal blood lipid levels, and improving liver function. 14 Final Comments Vegetables: Artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, beetroot, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, garlic, fennel, leaks, mushrooms, okra, onions, peas, and shallots. Wallace, T. M., Levy, J. C. & Matthews, D. R. Use and abuse of HOMA modeling. Diabetes Care 27, 1487–1495 (2004).

Fish oil is controversial right now, with some scientists claiming that the benefits of it have been overstated. In one study comparing the effects of fish and fish oil, researchers found that levels of DHA (a fatty acid) in one group of people eating whole salmon were nine times higher than in a group that took fish oil (Source: NCBI). However, if you don’t like fish, or like the convenience of capsules, other research has shown that if you take them with a high-fat meal, you can increase the absorption of fatty acids to a point where they could be as beneficial as whole fish.

We understand what you are going through.

So in addition to polyphenols and fish oil, make sure you add prebiotic foods to your daily menu. Many of them also contain polyphenols, so your Akkermansia can get a double hit of goodness. For instance: