The Human Microbiome

Learn how a healthy microbiome can combat disease

Please note this course runs without facilitation. A Spanish version of the course can be found here, and a version in French here.

The microbiome – the microbes that live within the human body – can have a huge impact on human health. As such, it’s vital to understand the complexity of the microbiome, and how it can impact on disease and wellbeing.

On this course, you’ll go on a fascinating journey into the human body – down to the gut – where the ecology and roles of the human microbiome will be narrated.

You’ll explore how your microbiome changes throughout your life, reflect on the role of food in its modulation, and explain the functions the microbiome has in the gastrointestinal tract in daily life.

This course is for anyone interested in subjects related to the human microbiome, how food can influence it, and how this resultantly impacts on human health.

If you’re looking to expand your knowledge on this topic, you might also find of interest the following EIT Food courses on health and nutrition:

• Food for Thought: The Relationship Between Food, Gut and Brain
• Nutrition for Health and Sustainability
• Superfoods: Myths and Truths
• Food and Nutrition: The Truth Behind Food Headlines
• Understanding Mediterranean and Okinawa Diets

• The Journey of Life
• Welcome to the course
• The composition of human microbiota
• The functions of the gut microbiota
• Physiological changes during the life-span
• How to determine our gut microbiota
• Reflect on the week
• The Journey of Food
• The link between food and microbiome
• Foods as vectors of microorganisms (fermented foods)
• Food meets your gut microbiota
• Influence of different bioactive food components on gut microbiome
• Probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics
• Reflect on the week
• The Journey of Healthy to Unhealthy
• The link between health and microbiome
• Microbiota and human host partnership: when things go wrong (dysbiosis, leaky gut, etc.)
• Gut microbiota and immune health (infections, allergy, inflammatory bowel disease)
• Gut microbiota and metabolic health: gut-liver-adipose tissue axes
• Gut microbiota and mental health: gut-brain axis
• Innovative approaches to modify the gut microbiota
• Final assessment and 'take home message'