Hariom Yadav, PhD, knew early on there was a medical miracle hiding in milk.
鈥淚 grew up in a farmer鈥檚 family and my dad owned 250 cows,鈥欌�� said Dr. Yadav, director of the 国产短视频Center for Microbiome Research. 鈥淚 came from a milk family, and that鈥檚 what hooked me.鈥欌��
Dr. Yadav also is a professor in the Department of Neurosurgery, Brain and Spine in the 国产短视频Health Morsani College of Medicine.
As a youngster in his native India, he learned that milk could be fermented to make yogurt, a beneficial probiotic. Probiotics are filled with live microorganisms, such as 鈥済ood鈥� bacteria, shown to improve gut health.
It didn鈥檛 take long for the seeds of a promising career in health science to sprout.
鈥淚t all came by accident,鈥欌�� the 47-year-old said of his chosen profession. 鈥淚 grew up eating fermented foods on the farm and was fascinated by how bacteria living in a person鈥檚 gut contributes to their health. Yes, it definitely hooked me.鈥欌��
He enrolled at India鈥檚 National Dairy Research Institute, focusing on probiotics projects and graduating in 2006 with a PhD in biochemistry. Dr. Yadav eventually brought his research interests to 国产短视频Health, specializing in the microbiome 鈥� the community of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and other microscopic life forms that inhabit the human digestive tract and other parts of the body.
The Morsani College of Medicine recruited Dr. Yadav to head the center, where he and a team have done extensive research, highlighting how a 鈥渓eaky鈥� gut caused by disturbances in the microbiome might increase the risk of dementia, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and unhealthy aging. His research is internationally recognized and supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation.
鈥淭he microbiome is a monitor in our bodies,鈥欌�� Dr. Yadav said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to understand because more research is trying to tell us what food you should eat based on your microbiome signature. It鈥檚 a fascinating and exciting field of study.鈥欌��
Essentially an ecosystem, the microbiome is crucial for the health of the host, having a direct impact on digestion, the immune system, brain health and nutrient production.
A growing body of evidence shows that certain foods 鈥� probiotics, prebiotics, fermented foods, modified ketogenic diets 鈥� can modulate the trillions of tiny organisms in the microbiome to help prevent abnormalities in gut health that, in turn, affect other organs.
Much of Dr. Yadav鈥檚 research focuses on the related chemistry of the microbiome and these organs, particularly the brain.
鈥淥ur gut has approximately as many neurons as our brain does, so it鈥檚 often called our 鈥榮econd brain,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淭he gut and brain communicate in two ways: through the vagus nerve and through circulation. This communication is constant and goes both ways. That鈥檚 why people often say, 鈥業 have a gut feeling.鈥欌��
In two recently published papers, Dr. Yadav and his team explored the links between the microbiome and dementia, a decline in mental ability that affects more than 6 million people in the United States. Cases are projected to nearly triple by 2050 due to the aging population, making it a critical area of study.
鈥淲e found that older people with dementia have very different gut microbiomes than those who do not,鈥欌�� Dr. Yadav said. 鈥淥ur research shows that all of these groups of different organisms in the gut differ, not only in types but also in their functions.鈥欌��
In another 国产短视频Health-led paper, the team developed a probiotic cocktail shown to have a beneficial effect on cognitive resilience. Dr. Yadav鈥檚 team found that the probiotic mixture appeared to reduce levels of harmful proteins in the brain, as well as lower brain inflammation 鈥� a key risk factor for Alzheimer鈥檚 disease and dementia.
His research proposes a novel approach to lowering the risk of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, as existing medications for Alzheimer鈥檚 disease target biological mechanisms in the brain. His goal is to translate the findings to humans through clinical trials.
Probiotic products can be relatively simple and inexpensive, such as over-the-counter supplements, doctor-prescribed drugs or smoothies made from fruits and vegetables. Fermented foods such as yogurt, sauerkraut, pickles, cottage cheese, miso, kimchi, kombucha and kefir are good sources of probiotics. Some teas and ginger root also are beneficial.
Studies suggest that they may help reduce the risk of certain chronic diseases due to their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and probiotic properties. And because fermented foods are partially broken down by microbes, they are easy to digest and absorb 鈥� making them a potent elixir.
鈥淢y motivation is to translate quality science into public health and clinical practices through an approach I call food as a medicine,鈥欌�� Dr. Yadav said. 鈥淢oving science from plate to people is what drives me.鈥欌��
While probiotic foods can maintain a healthy gut, what about foods that do the opposite? And what if a person is on antibiotics, drugs than can alter the harmonic balance of 鈥済ood鈥欌�� and 鈥渂ad鈥欌�� microorganisms?
鈥淒efinitely avoid processed and ultra-processed foods,鈥欌�� Dr. Yadav advised, pointing to the high levels of refined sugar in much store-bought food. 鈥淎ntibiotics kill both good and bad bacteria, so only when you stop taking them does the good microbiome growth come back. If you鈥檙e taking antibiotics, you should augment your meals with fermented foods.鈥欌��
Armed with more knowledge about how the microbiome affects our health, 国产短视频researchers hope to identify high-risk patient populations that could benefit from next-generation therapies 鈥� and how manipulating gut health might play a larger role in personalized medical care.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 exactly what we鈥檙e trying to do with our testing,鈥� Dr. Yadav said. 鈥淵our microbiome and mine are different, so foods and interventions might not work the same. So, we鈥檙e trying to personalize them, to know what kind of microbes offer the maximum benefit for different people鈥檚 microbiome.鈥欌��
This leads to another topic that Dr. Yadav believes has great potential: extending a person鈥檚 life span.
鈥淭he name probiotics in itself means pro-life, anti-aging,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淭he whole concept is about prolonging life in a healthier way. We鈥檙e changing the microbiome through diet, and we鈥檙e using AI-based tools to develop biomarkers for simple and effective diagnostics. Microbiome research is new but rapidly growing, and it鈥檚 becoming mainstream. I think the future is very bright.鈥欌��
鈥� Photos by Freddie Coleman, 国产短视频Health Communications