How to Increase Akkermansia Naturally: Foods & Habits

You cannot eat Akkermansia muciniphila in ordinary food, but you can change the conditions it lives in. In human studies, the levers that most often raised it were polyphenol-rich foods (pomegranate, grapes, cranberry-type berries), certain fermentable fibers, regular exercise and, in people with type 2 diabetes, metformin. The increases are real but variable, and nobody has yet shown that raising it with food changes your weight.

Below is what each lever did in people, a food list you can use, what "low Akkermansia" means, and when a supplement makes more sense than a diet change.

Can you get Akkermansia from food?

Not in any meaningful amount. Akkermansia was first isolated from human stool in 2004 and described as a mucin-degrading bacterium: it lives in the mucus layer that lines your gut and feeds on the mucin proteins your own body secretes ¹. It is also a strict anaerobe, meaning it grows only without oxygen. That is why it is not a standard culture in yogurt, kefir or sauerkraut, and why "Akkermansia foods" really means foods that help the Akkermansia already in your gut.

That distinction shapes everything below. You are not adding the bacterium; you are giving it room and fuel. If you have very little to begin with, food may move it less than you hope, which is where a supplement comes in (more on that at the end). For the bacterium's metabolic story, start with Akkermansia and metabolic health.

What raised Akkermansia in human studies?

Most of the striking Akkermansia results come from mice. The table and notes below stick to studies in people.

Polyphenols. A 2026 meta-analysis pulled together 50 randomized trials of polyphenol supplements in 2,042 adults. Among the trials that reported it, about half found more Akkermansia after supplementation; Bifidobacterium rose more consistently, and butyrate went up overall. The authors were careful to call these associations rather than proof of a prebiotic effect, and they noted the changes were larger in people with metabolic disorders and in trials of 12 weeks or more ². Our polyphenols and metabolic health page explains why these compounds end up in the colon at all.

Pomegranate. In 20 healthy volunteers taking 1,000 mg of pomegranate extract daily for four weeks, the people whose gut bacteria could turn pomegranate into urolithin A had 33 to 47 times more Akkermansia than those who could not ³. That is a correlation inside one small study, and about a third of participants never made urolithin at all. It does tie pomegranate to the same gut chemistry we cover in urolithin A.

Grapes. In a small pilot study, 46 g a day of whole grape powder (about two servings of table grapes) for four weeks increased gut diversity and significantly raised Akkermansia in healthy adults ⁴.

Fiber and other dietary changes. A systematic review of 29 dietary trials found that a calorie-restricted diet and supplements of pomegranate extract, resveratrol, polydextrose, inulin, sodium butyrate and a yeast fermentate each increased Akkermansia in at least one trial, while a low-FODMAP diet decreased it ⁵. The low-FODMAP finding makes sense: that diet cuts many of the fermentable carbohydrates the gut community runs on. If you are on one for IBS, do not abandon it for Akkermansia's sake; it is worth discussing with whoever prescribed it.

Calorie restriction. The picture here is mixed. In a French study of 49 overweight and obese adults, people who started with more Akkermansia had healthier blood sugar and fat distribution and improved more on a six-week calorie-restricted diet, yet their Akkermansia actually fell during the diet (while staying higher than in people who started low) ⁶. Our intermittent fasting and the gut page covers the fasting side in more depth.

Exercise. A 2024 meta-analysis covering 91 studies found most reported more short-chain-fatty-acid producers, including Akkermansia, in active people and after exercise programs, although results varied too much to be conclusive ⁷. In older adults specifically, a 2026 meta-analysis of 16 trials found exercise programs raised Akkermansia by a moderate-sized amount, and moderate-intensity programs gave the biggest gains in overall diversity ⁸. More in exercise and the gut microbiome.

Metformin. This one is a prescription drug, not a habit, but it is the most consistent Akkermansia-raiser in people with type 2 diabetes. A 2025 meta-analysis of 1,431 participants found metformin significantly boosted Akkermansia and several short-chain-fatty-acid producers ⁹. See metformin and the gut microbiome. It is not a reason to start metformin.

How strong is the evidence for each lever?

Rated on one question only: does this change Akkermansia in people? Whether that change improves your health is a separate, still-open question.

What foods should you eat to feed Akkermansia?

Pulling those studies together, a practical food list looks like this. None of these is guaranteed to move your number, and none needs to be eaten in supplement-sized amounts to be worth eating.

• •Pomegranate (arils, juice without added sugar) and grapes, the two foods with direct human signals.
• •Berries, especially cranberries, blueberries and strawberries, for polyphenols. Most of the cranberry Akkermansia data is from mice, so treat this as a sensible bet rather than a tested one.
• •Green tea, cocoa and red-skinned produce, other common polyphenol sources, although human Akkermansia data on these specific foods is thin.
• •Fermentable fiber: onions, garlic, leeks, asparagus, oats and legumes for inulin-type fibers and resistant starch. Add fiber slowly to avoid gas.
• •A diet with variety. Akkermansia rarely moves alone; the trials that raised it usually shifted the whole community.

If you use a fiber supplement instead, our psyllium vs inulin comparison covers which fibers your gut bacteria actually ferment.

What does "low Akkermansia" mean, and can you test it?

There are no recognized symptoms of low Akkermansia. You cannot feel it. What studies show is an association: people with obesity, insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes tend to have less of it, and in the French diet study, higher starting levels went with healthier blood sugar and fat distribution ⁶. That does not mean low Akkermansia caused those conditions.

The only way to know your level is a stool microbiome test. Those tests report a relative abundance that shifts with diet, timing and lab method, and there is no agreed "normal range" to compare against. Before paying for one, read do at-home gut microbiome tests work?

When does an Akkermansia supplement make sense?

If you have already changed your diet and want the bacterium itself, a supplement is the only direct route. The only placebo-controlled human trial used 10 billion bacteria a day for three months; the pasteurized form improved insulin sensitivity by about 29% and lowered insulin and cholesterol, while weight change was not statistically significant ¹⁰. That trial and its limits are covered in Akkermansia: what the human trial showed, with doses in Akkermansia dosage and the live-versus-pasteurized question in why the dead bacteria worked.

Food and a supplement are not either-or. Polyphenols and fiber shape the environment a supplemented strain lands in. For product comparisons, see our best Akkermansia supplements and, for blends that pair strains with fiber, our best metabolic probiotic ranking. Safety questions are answered in Akkermansia side effects and safety.

The bottom line

Akkermansia is a bacterium you feed rather than eat. The best human signals point to polyphenol-rich foods like pomegranate and grapes, fermentable fiber, regular moderate exercise and, for people with diabetes, metformin. The increases are inconsistent, and no trial has shown that raising Akkermansia through diet alone causes weight loss. Eat the foods because they are good for you anyway, and treat any rise in Akkermansia as a bonus rather than the goal.