Kiran Krishnan is a Research Microbiologist and has been involved in the dietary supplement and nutrition market for the past 17 years. He comes from a strict research background having spent several years with hands-on R&D in the fields of molecular medicine and microbiology at the University of Iowa. Most recently, Kiran is acting as the Chief Scientific Officer at Physician’s Exclusive, LLC. and Microbiome Labs. He is currently involved in 9 novel human clinical trials on probiotics and the human microbiome.
Kiran starts by talking about his passion for microbiology and the microbiome. He says that when he was growing up, he had this innate curiosity of how the world works. This curiosity drove him into the sciences. He also has always been fascinated by the universe that we cannot see in the visible realm.
When it comes to our understanding of the microbiome, Kiran says that we are at the tip of the iceberg. He says much of this microbial world is even mysterious and magical and hard to fathom. Just in the last 5 years, over 50,000 papers have been published on the microbiome. In this way, an incredible amount of research is now being focused on understanding this hidden microbial universe.
For Kiran, the most exciting part of this field is that “it provides so much hope that we have so much more capability to control disease than we thought we did.”
Kiran takes us on a deep dive into the way in which the immune system and microbiome are really part of the same system and function as a singular unit. He says that there is an elaborate “crosstalk” between the immune cells and the microbes. In fact, “your immune system evolved to utilize your microbiome to protect the human body.”
Currently, many people have immune systems that are misdirected and they are not getting the proper signals. Kiran says that this is 100% driven by dysfunctional microbiomes.
In terms of covid, Kiran says that there are at least five (5) published studies showing that certain characteristics of your microbiome are predictive of how severe the infection will be. Some of the risk factors that can lead to poor outcomes include low diversity of species in the microbiome and a low number of certain beneficial keystone species. Not only is a disrupted microbiome a major factor in how the body responds to a virus, but it also potentially makes the human host more susceptible to long haul covid.
Kiran says that the good news is that we can REWILD and create more diversity in our microbiomes. The first step is to introduce new foods into our diet and provide our guts with a diversity of different foods. Another step is fasting, since certain species will only proliferate when there is a lack of food supply coming into our systems. Getting outside in nature is an extremely important way to create a more diverse microbiome. And finally, Kiran says that taking the right spore based probiotic bacteria can enhance the growth of many important species in our microbiomes.
Kiran talks about the daily practices that make him feel most alive. He starts by relating his love of cycling. Next, Kiran says that he’s really good at relaxing whether it’s watching a movie or getting a massage. He also says that he feels most alive by serving others. Interestingly, there are actually microbes in the gut that motivate you to support others and help your fellow humans.
In the end, Kiran’s advice to his younger self: trust your instincts and follow your gut!
You can learn more about Kiran and his company Microbiome Labs right here: https://microbiomelabs.com/home/
You can find Kiran on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/kiranbiome/?hl=e
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