ZOE Science & Nutrition

Why do some people remain fit and healthy in their later years while others become increasingly frail?   Researchers from Kings College London have been following thousands of twins for 30 years in an effort to understand how each of us ages differently. And some of their findings will surprise you! In today’s episode, Jonathan speaks to Claire Steves to better understand what all this means, shed...

The formal definition for constipation is ‘Having fewer than three bowel movements per week’. But, did you know that you can have a bowel movement every day and still be constipated? Recent data has shown that a quarter of people worldwide have at one point reported symptoms, suggesting that there is so much more to constipation than simply infrequent bowel movements. In today’s short-ish episode...

The cost of living has soared. Energy prices have doubled, and food costs have gone up enormously. As a result, the weekly shopping bill can be shocking.  For some, this is merely an inconvenience. But many others face the awful choice between heating their home and maintaining their usual diet. The consequence is that many of us are throwing cheaper ingredients into our shopping baskets to save m...

Our gut helps fight disease. It processes energy for us and boosts our mood. So, having a healthy gut is extremely important – but there’s still a lot we don’t know. Gut biome tests are a new, exciting technology, but are they the be-all and end-all for dietary decision-making? And are there simpler ways — and tastier ways, perhaps — to tell what’s happening inside our bodies? In today’s short epi...

Blood sugar is one of the rare nutrition topics where everyone agrees: We should avoid big peaks and dips and aim for a steady curve.  Spikes cause inflammation, accelerate aging, and lead to type 2 diabetes. Crashes make us feel moody and tired, and crave foods we don’t need.  We can control our blood sugar through what and how we eat. But something else affects our blood sugar — physical activit...

More than half of us have high cholesterol — and new research suggests that having even slightly raised levels in our 30s could significantly increase our chances of developing heart disease. Medication is a common fix, but it comes with side effects. So, today we’re looking at how much changing our diets can help.  In this short (ish) episode of ZOE Science & Nutrition, Jonathan and Sarah ask: Ca...

This year, cases of an invasive bacterial infection are rising earlier than usual in the US, the UK and other countries across Europe.  The group A Streptococcus bacteria - commonly known as Strep A - usually only causes mild illness. However, things have become severe in some cases, with several children dying in recent weeks. So, should we be worried? And what symptoms should we look out for to...

Welcome to 2023! Whether you partied last night or went to bed early, we’re all in the same boat: a new year means thinking about new year’s resolutions.  This tradition dates back 4000 years, so it’s certainly stood the test of time. But are new year’s resolutions a good idea? Or simply a get way to set yourself up to fail?  Perhaps science has something to say about this. In this episode, Jonath...

You might think what you eat and when are the only factors that play into the health of your diet. But recent research has shown that who you eat with can also play a role. And it could even make your food taste better! In today’s short episode of ZOE Science & Nutrition, Jonathan and Sarah ask: Can eating with other people really improve your food?  Studies referenced in today’s episode:  Associa...

What should I have for dinner? A question you no doubt ask yourself daily. But I bet you don't spend too long coming up with an answer. ZOE's scientific co-founder, Tim Spector, has been trying to answer this question for a decade. If you're a regular listener, you probably know him well. Five years ago, he published the best-selling book, The Diet Myth, and just last month, he released the follow...

The last decade saw a rise in gluten-free diets. But the number of us with diagnosed gluten intolerance each year hasn’t changed. Eliminating gluten is the only treatment for those with celiac disease, but the rest of us could be doing more harm than good by embracing ultra-processed, gluten-free foods.  In today’s short episode of ZOE Science & Nutrition, Jonathan and Will ask: Should you be worr...

We all know how good it feels to drift into deep sleep and wake up feeling refreshed.  The positive effects of a good night’s sleep affect every aspect of our lives. We feel energetic, focused, and ready to take on the day’s challenges.   But the long-term effects of bad sleep are less known. It turns out, they have a huge impact on our health and even how long we live.   In this episode, Jonathan...

The acid in your stomach is so powerful it can dissolve metal. Luckily, your stomach is fine-tuned to deal with its acidic fluid, but the rest of your body isn’t quite as hardy. So, if acid escapes from your stomach and reaches your esophagus, it can cause a painful sensation in the chest — this is heartburn. It isn’t rare, with more than 1 billion people suffering from it globally.  In today’s sh...

Good information about vitamins is hard to find. With over 70% of Americans and 40% of Brits using them, it's a hugely lucrative market, which means numerous voices in the media and online pusing a pro-vitamin agenda. All without the scientific evidence to support their claims.  So do we need vitamins to lead a healthy life? Or could these supplements actually cause serious health complications? I...

It's a condition that affects half the population, but there are countless unanswered questions about menopause. The symptoms vary significantly from person to person, including sleep problems, hot flashes, weight gain, and an increased risk of heart disease.  In one of the largest studies to date, ZOE researchers have uncovered a link between menopause and our diets — and this could hold the key...

In a lab in Ireland, a group of scientists stand around a stainless steel table. One of them is holding a device, not unlike a small turkey baster. His free hand plunges into a box on the table and retrieves a mouse.   Using his device, he administers the brown solution within…rectally.  This unfortunate soul has just received a fecal microbiota transplant. The donor was not another mouse but a hu...

We use it to fry, roast, or dress a salad. Cooking oil is a kitchen staple. But it's hard to know which is healthiest for each scenario. In today’s short episode of ZOE Science & Nutrition, Jonathan and Sarah ask: what cooking oils should you use and when?  Follow ZOE on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoe/ Download our FREE guide — Top 10 Tips to Live Healthier: https://zoe.com/freeguide Stu...

Fermentation is a hot craze in fancy restaurants around the world. And fermented foods, like kombucha and kimchi, are even sold in corner stores.  Listeners of this show will have heard that fermented foods might benefit our gut health. But these foods make us uneasy. The idea of letting food rot, then eating it goes against everything our parents taught us. So, is fermentation scary and dangerous...

Have you ever lost your temper because you were hungry? Feeling short-tempered when you’re overdue a bite to eat is an almost universal experience, with its own adjective - ‘hangry’. If missing just one meal turns you into a grump, you may think that fasting would turn you into the Incredible Hulk. However, new data suggests this might not be the case.  In this daily episode of ZOE Science & Nutri...

Can you make it from lunch to dinner without a snack? Tradition tells us that three meals a day is the right way to eat, but times have changed, and many of us now choose to eat little and often. The debate continues as to which is better.  Today, we discuss new data that could settle this once and for all. In this daily episode of ZOE Science & Nutrition, Jonathan is joined by Dr Sarah Berry to a...

Nowadays, food can be delivered to your door with just a few swipes of your smartphone. The result? Many of us eat more frequently, at any time of the day. And this may have some downsides. New research shows that for our gut bacteria to perform their helpful activities, we may have to embrace the dietary patterns of our ancestors.  In today’s daily episode of ZOE Science & Nutrition, Jonathan is...

Food package labels can be complex. With so much information, many of us set a beeline for the calorie number, but there’s more going on in food than just the amount of energy. How much value is there in counting calories, and should you continue? The latest science could make you reconsider.  In today’s daily episode of ZOE Science & Nutrition, Jonathan is joined by Dr Sarah Berry to answer the q...

We’ve all been there at least once, hovering by the fridge and looking for something to graze on just before bed. What you eat after dark can disrupt your sleep and digestion. Yet new evidence suggests that when we snack is less important than what we snack on, so suddenly that midnight snack may not be a guilty pleasure after all.   In today’s daily episode of ZOE Science & Nutrition, Jonathan is...

Fasting has been shown to improve our metabolism, slow disease and potentially increase our life span. While world religions have practiced fasting for millennia, the trend of fasting has soared in popularity in the last decade.  Not all fasts are made equally and there are a lot of different rules to follow. Some purists argue that you’re only allowed water while fasting others believe there can...

Where were you in 2015? President Obama was in the White House, The UK was a member of the European Union, and you couldn’t escape Bruno Mars's global smash: Uptown Funk. More importantly, 2015 marked the release of Tim Spector’s first book: The Diet Myth. If you think the world has felt different since 2015, wait until you hear about the advances in nutritional science. Since then, Tim has had a...