How quickly can you improve your gut health? Can diet help lower your risk of dementia? And what should you know about food labels and healthy weight loss? In this special live Q&A, Prof Tim Spector, Prof Sarah Berry and Dr Federica Amati answer your biggest nutrition questions and share practical, evidence-based advice you can use today.
Drawing on decades of research and data from hundreds of thousands of people, they explain how diet can influence the gut microbiome, brain health, hunger, energy levels and long-term health. They discuss dementia risk, healthy snacking, intermittent fasting, ultra-processed foods, plant diversity, breakfast, food labels and the latest science on weight loss.
You’ll learn how quickly the gut microbiome may respond to dietary change, why some foods keep you fuller for longer, how to build a healthier breakfast, and simple ways to make better food choices. The team also explain why small dietary changes can have lasting benefits.
If your daily food choices influence your gut health, brain health and future wellbeing, which change is worth making first?
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Timecodes
00:00 Intro
01:56 The first ever live ZOE podcast
09:14 How long does it really take to improve your gut microbiome?
12:56 Can you feel healthier before your gut microbiome changes?
14:15 Which foods should you always buy organic?
16:33 Are oats actually healthy?
18:36 The overnight oats trick that may improve blood sugar
19:28 Resistant starch: the hidden nutrient most people miss
21:32 Always hungry at 3pm? Sarah’s evidence-backed fix
27:17 The food industry trick that makes you eat more
29:44 Why ultra-processed foods leave you hungry
30:50 Does chewing more food really help you lose weight?
33:23 What does gut health have to do with depression and anxiety?
37:45 Is your gut controlling your brain?
39:34 Are fermented foods the most underrated brain-health food?
41:46 Starting Ozempic or Wegovy? Do this first
42:40 What do GLP-1 drugs do to your gut microbiome?
45:20 Tim Spector’s plan to fix Britain’s health crisis
47:55 Why governments still aren’t acting on ultra-processed foods
50:50 Have US food guidelines changed—and is the UK falling behind?
53:08 Is intermittent fasting safe for women?
56:15 What’s the healthiest breakfast to break a fast?
58:20 The science breakthroughs that could change nutrition forever
📚Books by our ZOE Scientists
The Food For Life Cookbook
Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati
The Appetite Reset by Dr Federica Amati
Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector
Ferment by Prof. Tim Spector
Good Mood Food (preorder) by Prof. Tim Spector
Free resources from ZOE
The Smart Snacking Guide: How to feed your gut, fuel your day, and snack without guilt
The Hormone Harmony Guide: Tuning Your Body’s Internal Orchestra
Eating for Better Brain Health: Your brain-gut blueprint
How to eat in 2026 - Discover ZOE’s 8 nutrition principles for long-term health
Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition
Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks
Better Breakfast Guide
Mentioned in today's episode
Daily Sampling Reveals Personalized Diet-Microbiome Associations in Humans, Cell Host & Microbe (2019)
ZOE’s PREDICT studies: What we’ve learned
ZOE snacking study: What should you do?
The Big IF Study: What did we find?
Diet and Dementia, Neurology (2024)
Daily30: Does it work?
Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here.
Episode transcripts are available here.