Dr Tim Spector - the new Michael Mosley

Having read 3/4 of Food for Life [, I thought I'd update. I thought this was going to be a recipe book - it is far more useful. 

The first 100 pages explains the gut microbiome and how everyone's is different. He goes through the scientific data - how food affects us, latest myth-busting research, how to choose better foods, store and cook for better health.

Part two comprises chapters on each food group; a reference bible of food groups/ characteristics so you can browse, say, milk products, cereals, meat, veg etc - each section a manageable 10 pages or so with a useful 5 point summary at the end of each.

The book is very readable, even with a necessarily large amount of scientific names, and also full of humour. The most important to how about are the Darth Varder UPF's [ultra processed foods] and Luke Skywalker pre & pro biotics [to prove I'm learning the lingo !] Dr Tim warns of not radically altering your diet too quickly, allowing time for the gut to adapt. This is true. I discovered it blows your knickers off if you eat too many beans, lashings of yoghurt and cut out your beloved processed meats etc. But all settles down in a few weeks. After 3 weeks, I find myself happily making my own yoghurt [saving my beloved ice-cream maker from being redundant all winter] and planning healthier meals. My GP will be delighted.

Incidentally, this knowledge might be useful to Elon Musk - saving money on rocket fuel. If he treated all his employees to a week of bean-loaded meals and bussed them down to his rocket launch sites, he would enjoy a stellar lift-off .

Yes it was free, and it tracked how the common symptoms of Covid changed as time and location progressed. Logging my state of health each day was like a meditative practice in daily life.

Well done you on your weight loss! 

The loss of life as a result of Covid was dreadful, yet it feels like a bad dream now. The effects of the passage of time and its events are strange. I too enjoyed the peace and quiet. 

We did the Zoe app in the pandemic (it was free I think for that). It was good as I think that was identifying more common symptoms, like the whole loss of taste/smell then got noticed as a symptom. Citizen science!

Yes, they are! The other recipes sound easy to make and I can tell from the ingredients I will like them.

ArchaeC said:

For now, I am content just to include more plant foods in my diet and eliminate highly processed foods

Yes, that's how I'm approaching this too. I've already lost a few pounds after ditching processed meats in my pantry and freezer. I've received the book and really looking forward to reading it. I agree, ZOE membership is expensive and looks more of an experiment at present - after all, he is a scientist. I wish I'd known about his input during Covid. Apart from the dreadful loss of life, I enjoyed the peace of seclusion and being able to legitimately put myself into this state.

I became aware of Tim Spector during covid because he had the Zoe app with Covid facts and data which were different to the information and data made available through government websites. People who signed up could give a daily report of how they were feeling and if you had symptoms of covid you would be sent a test to be returned to his lab team. When the threat from Covid ended he began promoting the diet.

I’m not dieting but I have been interested in how he uses the various plant food sources in his recipes. At one time I had considered signing up for the diet programme but the aggressive marketing and lack of consensus among experts put me off. It is expensive, although Which mention they offer a reduced price option. For now, I am content just to include more plant foods in my diet and eliminate highly processed foods. There does seem to be evidence that many people enjoy his recipes and find them useful for controlling weight and diet cravings.

Which says that many people find the app useful although the results aren’t truly personalised. Which testers said that Zoe wasn’t able to tell them how to get the specific ‘good gut’ bacteria that Zoe said they were missing. 

Zoe responded to Which:

We don’t always know where specific species of bacteria come from. And it’s not possible to simply package 'good' bacteria species into supplement pills. Although our tests may not have detected certain 'good' species in your stool, it doesn’t mean they’re not there. They could be inactive, but can come out of hibernation when exposed to their favourite foods.

Which quotes researcher Dr Harriet Schellekens, “We still have an incomplete understanding of the microbiome and we’re not at the stage where we can use this information to offer personalised nutrition. I’m not saying it’s a waste of money, but we need to manage expectations”.

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/nutrition-and-supplements/article/zoe-review-is-it-worth-it-aOVeL1R5BW52

Yeah Tim Spector has been around for a bit.

I think he might be the guy connected to the Zoe program that adjusts diet by measuring how you metabolise different foods by measuring your blood sugars.

I used to watch him on YouTube.

Thanks for the heads-up. I take a look.

Cookies sound delicious BTW.