What If Your Body Already Knows How to Heal Itself—And You Just Forgot the Language?
The immigrant microbiologist who turned his gut into a laboratory, reversed "incurable" arthritis, and discovered that your next meal is more powerful than any prescription
What if everything you've been told about health—take this pill, manage your symptoms, accept your diagnosis—is just the beginning of a story you were meant to rewrite?
On the latest episode of Immigrant Nation Podcast, we met Momchilo (Momo) Vuyisich—a microbiologist, biochemist, biotech entrepreneur, and walking revolution wrapped in a lab coat. But here's what makes his story unforgettable: he didn't just study the science of life. He became his own experiment, his own breakthrough, his own proof that the impossible is just unfinished research.
When doctors handed him an arthritis diagnosis with a side of "learn to live with it," Momo did what every great immigrant does when told there's no way forward: he built his own door.
Momo's journey reads like a beautiful collision between worlds—microbes and molecules, data and determination, East African roots and North American innovation. Trained as a microbiologist and biochemist, his expertise spans drug discovery, technology commercialization, and biotech start-ups. But his real superpower? He learned to listen to the whispers of trillions.
Not people. Microbes.
The tiny, invisible architects living inside you—50% of your body's cells—that most of us never think about until something goes terribly wrong. Momo realized what modern medicine keeps forgetting: your body isn't just flesh and bone. It's an ecosystem, a symphony, a living conversation between you and trillions of microscopic allies.
And when that conversation breaks down? Disease walks in.
"Think of your body not just as human, but as a living ecosystem," Momo explains with the wonder of someone who's seen miracles under a microscope. "Roughly 50% human cells and 50% microbial cells. The microbes in your gut, skin, and other systems aren't passengers—they're co-pilots."
Close your eyes and imagine: inside you right now, invisible cities are thriving. Bacteria are digesting your breakfast, fungi are fortifying your immune walls, microorganisms are sending chemical messages that determine whether you feel energized or exhausted, calm or anxious, healthy or inflamed.
You're not just you. You're a universe.
And Momo discovered something extraordinary: when he fed that universe differently, spoke to it in the language of fermented foods and fiber-rich legumes, eliminated the toxins that were silencing beneficial microbes—his arthritis vanished.
Not managed. Not reduced. Reversed.
Here's where Momo's story becomes a love letter to mothers and a warning bell for modern medicine.
During natural childbirth, something sacred happens: a baby receives their first microbial inheritance—beneficial bacteria from the mother's gut that will shape immunity, metabolism, and disease resistance for life. It's nature's original probiotic, an invisible shield passed from one generation to the next.
Human Milk Oligosaccharides (HMOs) in breast milk aren't even meant for the baby—they're food for those beneficial microbes, helping them establish a thriving gut ecosystem.
But today? Cesarean rates are climbing. Formula feeding is normalized. And we're unknowingly breaking an ancient biological handshake.
Momo's question cuts deep: "What vital benefits are we depriving our children of? Will they pay the price with autoimmune diseases, allergies, and chronic conditions we could have prevented?"
This isn't judgment. It's grief—for a wisdom we're losing, for children who'll fight battles their gut was meant to win for them.
Three Times a Day, You're Writing Your Future
Every meal is a message to your microbiome. Every bite is either a love letter or a poison pen.
The foods that betray you:
Processed meals wrapped in convenience and chemical warfare
Non-organic produce bathed in pesticides that murder your microbial allies
Excessive rice, pasta, potatoes—empty calories that starve the good bacteria
Mouthwash after meals (yes, really—it's napalm for the digestive microbes in your mouth)
The foods that resurrect you:
Fermented foods: kimchi, sauerkraut, kefir—probiotics in edible form
Legumes: lentils, chickpeas, beans—fiber that feeds your microbial army
Onions, garlic—prebiotic powerhouses
Berries, leafy greens, apples—antioxidants and fiber
Home-cooked meals made with intention and organic ingredients when possible
The data is heartbreaking: by age 50, many people lose 50% of their blood pressure regulation efficiency—largely because their oral and gut microbes have been decimated by modern diets and hygiene overkill.
Your fork is more powerful than any pharmacy. Your kitchen is a laboratory. Every meal is a prescription you write yourself.
But Momo's brilliance doesn't stop at biology. His mind works in systems—whether analyzing microbial communities or reimagining governance.
"Computers compute. Developers design. Data decides," he says with the calm confidence of someone who's turned abstract concepts into living companies.
He envisions a world where we measure key molecules—glucose, electrolytes, hydrogen sulfide—and use data to guide interventions that restore balance. Just as we can model whether a city needs a $10 billion railway or healthcare investment, we can track our body's molecular symphony and conduct it toward health.
His message to every immigrant listening: You bring fresh eyes to broken systems. Whether it's inside structures (civic engagement, scientific research, policy advisory) or outside them (start-ups, innovation, entrepreneurship)—your perspective is the disruption the world needs.
Look at Singapore: they actively court immigrant ideas, test them, implement them. Countries that embrace diverse thinking don't just survive—they soar.
Momo reversed his arthritis. No medication. No surgery. Just understanding, data, and discipline. He transformed his body from a battleground into a garden.
When you're 60, 70, 80—will you be celebrating the choices you made today? Or mourning the warnings you ignored?
Will you be the person who moved with energy and joy? Or the one who spent their golden years managing preventable diseases?
Your body is begging you to listen.
Are you ready to learn its language?
Watch Epsiode 88 on
YouTube: https://youtu.be/qqBfCQ9swRA?si=MhLBGlBtkQu-6Yat or
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Qge78EiuBLVjQNcqeBEbN?si=60e5d703a5b147a2
