Yellow Fat Person - © Unknown

New Bacterium Could Reduce Cardio, Diabetes Risks

An army of medical researchers around the world is working on finding simple, effective and inexpensive ways of fighting obesity, which leads to cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Now, a French team has discovered a bacterium that could have a major impact on the obesity epidemic…

Bacterium Akkermansia - © iykang.comAkkermansia: Yes, apparently such a simple looking thing (here magnified
many times under a microscope) can provide major benefts in the
fight against obesity and its attendant health scourges.

The World Health Organization (WHO) tells us one in three people across the developed world is currently overweight or obese, and in line to develop cardiovascular issues, type 2 diabetes or other health issues. That’s a lot of sick people, and the experts warn us that the numbers are growing. But the discovery of a new bacterium, Akkermansia, that acts in the gut could signal a major breakthrough in the fight against fat.

What they did

Researchers at Université catholique de Louvain recently ran tests in humans designed to measure the effects, if any, of daily consumption of a bacterium previously found to moderate various cardiovascular disease risk factors such as insulin resistance, high cholesterol and the storage of fat in adipose tissue in mice.

Akkermansia was administered to a group of volunteers all of whom were overweight and displayed insulin resistance (pre-diabetes type 2) and metabolic syndrome – in other words, having several elevated risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. The volunteers were randomly divided into 3 groups (placebo, live bacteria and pasteurized bacteria) and were asked not to change their dietary habits or their physical activity. The Akkermansia was provided as a nutritional supplement.

What they found

Researchers, reported excellent compliance by test subjects (the supplements were easy to ingest) and tolerance (there were no side effects) in the groups taking live or pasteurized bacteria.

Overall, the tests confirmed in humans the same beneficial effects of Akkermansia as had been observed in mice. Ingestion of the (pasteurized) bacterium prevented the deterioration of the health status of the subjects (pre-diabetes, cardiovascular risks). Even better, the researchers observed a decrease in inflammation markers in the liver, a slight decrease in the body weight of the subjects (2.3 kg on average) as well as a lowering of cholesterol levels.

The takeaway

The experiment demonstrated the feasibility of administering Akkermansia to large numbers of people who have increased cardiovascular risks and, thereby, helping to limit those risks in half the population ‘if properly used’.

The researchers are now preparing to conduct larger-scale tests of Akkermansia in humans and to endorse the commercialisation of the bacterium as a food supplement by 2021.

My take

I’m always suspicious when someone – even respected researchers from major institutions – announces some sort of ‘silver bullet’ breakthrough in the control of a major health scourge. But the proof seems to be there that Akkermansia bacteria could prove effective against obesity and its attendant medical issues.

The problem is, folks who benefit from Akkermansia may not respect the chance they’ve been given to live longer, healthier lives and continue to abuse their bodies as they have been doing up to the time they began to receive treatment. Education and awareness must be administered along with the supplement if this apparent wonder drug is to have lasting, mass benefits. We’ll keep an eye on the progress of Akkermansia from the lab to the store shelf and keep you apprised.

~ Maggie J.