Are dead bugs good for our gut?
We drink pasteurised milk and other pasteurised foods so why not pasteurised bacteria?
We always trying to kill bacteria but there may be some benefits to this.
We’ve known for some time that probiotics may not make it to our gut and give us the recognised health benefits that we are after, but if they are dead (pasteurised) can they still provide us with some health benefits?
Companies are researching hard to find out if this is true as it would mean big $$$$$$$. One of our hard-working gut bugs, Akkermansia muciniphila is being investigated for this purpose.
A. muciniphila is the gate keeper of our gut and looks after the integrity of our intestine by maintaining the tight junctions of our intestinal cells to prevent leakage. We know that it has a huge job and it may protect us from leaky gut and other possible autoimmune diseases.
Researchers in Leuven University using a supplementation with the pasteurised form of A. muciniphila have shown a reduction in cardiovascular risk factors, a moderation of pre-diabetes progression and lower cholesterol levels in mice.
So why does the dead version work better?
Because if the bacteria are dead our body has a greater access to the proteins and other parts of the bacteria without the interference of added mucous that usually covers the bacteria.
One amazing find was the reduction in inflammation markers during experiments with mice which suggests that the gut is being reinforced through this supplement of dead bacteria. A pilot study will be conducted in the near future to test it with humans so keep watching this space for update around this very exciting research.
Reference
(Images Sourced from Creative Commons:
http://beneficialbacteria.net/breaking-news-potent-probiotic-bacteria-control-obesity-in-mice/;