Winter Reds & Purples Smoothie (Boosting Akkermansia)
Intro
Are you ready for a deep dive into the microscopic world that lives inside of us? I hope so! After bringing up the topic of gut health on Instagram at the end of last year I received an overwhelmingly positive response to keep discussing it with you. As someone who is going through a gut healing process with a doctor who is trained in the up-to-date research of microbial health, I am learning a great deal and would love to document it to share with you more often. (Sources for the information shared will be at the base of this post.)
Due to what are probably a host of influences, not excluding a poor diet in my formative years and many rounds of antibiotics, I have a few majorly beneficial species of bacteria in my gut that aren’t at detectable levels. My wonderful doctor, Jessica Bush, at Gould’s Medicine in Tasmania, Australia has been helping me nourish and bring these microbes back to healthy numbers for the past seven months. It will take a while to do so, but I’m happy to be supporting my body so that it can carry out what it was designed to do!
In the first post covering gut health on social I discussed the importance of microbial diversity in our digestive systems and how this correlates to diversity of fiber intake. Prebiotics are the food which feed our bacteria and prebiotics are fiber. The only foods that contains fiber are plant foods—and there is not simply one type of fiber our bacteria love, they feed off an assortment! Which is why eating a predominantly whole food, plant based diet full of color is the best way to feed our microbes and increase their diversity.
Below we are going to dive into one of the most populous species of bacteria in our digestive systems, akkermansia, and how they feed off not just fiber, but polyphenols too! Our microbes are amazing. They do extraordinary things for us, so lets dive in.
What is akkermansia?
Akkermansia is one of many species of bacteria found in our microbiome. It is one of the most abundant species as well, making up one to five percent of the total bacteria in a healthy person. This may not seem like a lot, but we have trillions of bacteria living inside of us! The bit about akkermansia that is incredibly interesting is its effect on the thickness of our gut lining (the mucosal layer), our metabolism, and inflammation.
These little microbes feed off of the mucin in our intestinal lining, keeping our cell walls strong and creating short-chain-fatty-acids (SCFAs) which go on to reduce inflammation in our bodies. It has been found that those with obesity, gastrointestinal diseases, intestinal permeability, and IBS have lower amounts of akkermansia. Whereas those who are healthy and lean have greater amounts of akkermansia in their gut.
Needless to say, these little guys are very important to nurture and feed, so let’s dive into ways to boost their numbers below.
foods that boost akkermansia?
It has been studied and discovered that plant foods rich in polyphenols, specifically those found in deep red and purple foods, have a positive effect on akkermansia growth. Examples would be red grapes, pomegranate, cranberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, red dragonfruit, beetroot, red cabbage, etc. Other polyphenols that have shown to be beneficial are those found in flaxseed, green tea, cacao, and cloves.
Below I put together a smoothie that uses polyphenol-rich pomegranate seeds and blueberries, ruby red stalked chard and beetroot greens, and flaxseeds too. I list below the recipe substitutes for different seasons of the year as well. Of course they do not need to be enjoyed in a smoothie form, we can simply eat these deeply rich purple and red foods whole to obtain the same benefits, but this smoothie is very delicious.
I’ve also included three spices in this smoothie that are known for their digestive benefits and overall warming qualities—ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom. These are a nice addition to a winter smoothie, to help keep you warm and your digestive system both soothed and activated.
I hope you found this post interesting and learned something neat! I could deep dive into these types of topics with you all day. Our microbiome’s health directly correlates to our own, and we are very much so sharing this body with a host of other organisms that require our love and respect. How wonderful that we can do so by enjoying delicious and nourishing foods. Cheers-ing you.
x Jessie
WINTER REDS & PURPLES SMOOTHIE
Makes 1 smoothie.
1 ripe banana
1/2 a ripe Bartlett pear
1/3 cup blueberries
2 to 3 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
1 to 2 medjool dates
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 tablespoon flax seeds
a few stocks of rhubarb chard, or beetroot greens
1/2 cup of water
optional
a pinch each of ground cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom
To stay warm during cold winter mornings, use half fresh and half frozen (or all fresh) ingredients in this smoothie.
Combine the above ingredients in a high speed blender and blend using the tamper to get moving.
If the smoothie is too thick to blend, add another 1/4 cup of water.
Blend on high for 30 to 60 seconds to ensure the seeds break down and everything is smooth.
Enjoy right away and say “cheers” to your akkermansia!
Spring: try using fresh raspberries and strawberries.
Summer: mix it up with fresh cherries and red dragonfruit.
Autumn: substitute a handful of fresh red grapes, cranberries, or currants.
Sources for this post:
Much of what I’ve learned has come from appointments with Dr. Jessica Bush, but here are a few linked studies and articles covering similar information that was discussed here too.