About 12 years ago, I had pneumonia, I was given the strongest antibiotic on the market at that time. It wiped out my gut biome. Right after that I got many food allergies and became very histamine intolerant. In December 23, I was listening to a podcast of Peter Attia’s, #283 ‒ Gut health & the microbiome: improving and maintaining the microbiome, probiotics, prebiotics, innovative treatments, and more | Colleen Cutcliffe, Ph.D. I reread the show notes and decided to get one of their products called Akkermansia. I started it at the end of December. By the end of January my arthritis was very bad, I had not had problems with my arthritis since I went Keto in January of 2018. I attribute it to the weather and the up and down barometric pressure we had in January. When it stabilized my arthritis was still here.
I went to my Dr, who referred me to my rheumatologist. Both Dr’s said they could not guess what was causing this. I told both of them the only things I have changed in my eating and routines was I started taking Akkermansia and tried a new sound bath using Tibetan bowls. I had written to Pendulum and asked if Akkermansia could affect arthritis the wrote back and said “ We have not specifically studied the effects of Akkermansia on arthritis. While Akkermansia is a microbe that has been associated with various potential health benefits, its impact on arthritis is not within the scope of our current research. They told me to stop taking it and speak to my dr.
My rheumatologist, and he was astounded as to how bad my arthritis was. I had seen him in October and in February he said my arthritis had progressed 4 years, in 4 months. My fingers were bent, swollen and all of the joints inflamed in my feet were the same, much more so in the left foot where my toes were now bending. The Dr said I had to get a cortisone shot in my hand to unfreeze my thumb so I could drive legally. He sent me for xrays and blood tests.
I got the results of the blood work and was amazed by my glucose being so high, I read on and notated all of the other unusual or high parts of my blood. That night, I sat up in bed and put it all together. The Akkermansia kicked me out of Ketosis because of the fiber. I got up and researched my notes to find where I read about the fiber. I wend on Facebook and listened to the videos they posted that and she said Akkermansia eats fiber and turned it into energy. I found in my notes – “ Unfortunately, Akkermansia is not found in food. However, it does feed on fiber. While there are many types of fiber-containing foods, research shows that the ones that best support Akkermansia growth are polyphenol-rich foods and prebiotic fibers.
So, the Akkermansia kicked me out of ketosis, it was turning the fiber I ate and the turmeric that I drank into glucose. Honestly, it was exhilarating to know what was happening to me. That alone made me feel better. My Dr agreed that could definitely be what caused my problems and he put me back on a CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor) to help me get my glucose back under control. I am on strict KETO, under 5 grams of carbs a day. Within a week my hands were not swollen, the redness went away, all the damage that was done is permanent, but I have stopped the progression. My glucose is still out of Wack, but I am working on it. Thank God for KETO. Knowing what my body would have been like if I didn’t go KETO in 2018, is so frightening! I am relistening to all of the 2KETO dudes podcasts again to help me through this.