8 ways to eat better in 2026 | Prof. Tim Spector and Prof. Sarah Berry
Timestamps are as accurate as they can be but may be slightly off. We encourage you to listen to the full context.
Podcast Summary
This comprehensive episode features Professor Tim Spector and Professor Sarah Berry as they unveil ZOE's eight science-backed principles for eating well in 2026. The discussion moves beyond nutrition myths and social media hype to provide evidence-based guidance that can help listeners feel more energetic, less hungry, and healthier overall. (04:11) The hosts emphasize that changing your diet at any age can add significant healthy years to your life - ten years if you start at 40, and six years even if you begin at 70.
- Main themes: The episode focuses on practical, sustainable nutrition principles backed by ZOE's research on over 300,000 participants, moving away from calorie counting toward food quality, timing, and diversity.
Speakers
Professor Tim Spector
Tim Spector is one of the world's top 100 most cited scientists, a professor of epidemiology at King's College London, and scientific co-founder at ZOE. He has authored bestselling books including "The Food For Life Cookbook," "Food For Life," and "Ferment," and is a leading researcher in gut microbiome science and personalized nutrition.
Professor Sarah Berry
Sarah Berry is a world leader in large-scale human nutritional studies, a professor of nutrition at King's College London, and chief scientist at ZOE. She has been running clinical trials for 25 years and leads ZOE's research on processing food risk assessment and personalized nutrition responses.
Key Takeaways
Mindful Eating Creates Lasting Change
Mindful eating involves stopping before you eat, understanding what you're eating, and discovering how food affects your health. (07:09) This practice counteracts the food industry's design of highly processed foods that dissolve quickly in your mouth and encourage mindless consumption. The ZOE app supports this by allowing users to snap photos of their food and receive instant analysis of nutrients, processing risk, and personalized health predictions, helping build awareness of the connection between food choices and how you feel hours later.
30 Plants Weekly Optimizes Gut Health
Eating 30 different plants per week provides optimal diversity for your gut microbes, who need varied nutrition to produce healthy chemicals for your immune system, metabolism, and brain function. (13:25) Plants include not just fruits and vegetables, but seeds, nuts, herbs, and spices. This diversity principle is more important than quantity - you can even add plants to unhealthy meals to counteract negative effects, as different microbes require different types of fiber and polyphenols to thrive.
Quality Trumps Calories for Sustainable Weight Loss
Focusing on food quality rather than calorie counting leads to more sustainable weight management and better health outcomes. (32:24) Research shows that calorie counting fails long-term because your body adapts by slowing metabolism and increasing hunger. ZOE's clinical trials demonstrate that people following quality-focused nutrition without calorie counting still lost significant weight and reduced waist circumference. Adding higher-quality calories, like protein to breakfast, actually reduces overall daily hunger and food intake.
Time-Restricted Eating Improves Multiple Health Markers
Eating within a 10-12 hour window and fasting for at least 12 hours overnight can improve mood, energy, reduce bloating, and support weight loss without calorie counting. (41:10) ZOE's Big IF study with 140,000 participants showed that even a modest 10-hour eating window produced significant improvements in just two weeks. The practice works by naturally reducing calorie intake by 300-500 calories and improving metabolic health markers including blood pressure and inflammation.
Fermented Foods Rapidly Boost Immune Function
Consuming three portions of fermented foods daily can improve mood, energy, and reduce bloating within days while supporting immune system function. (59:20) Fermented foods like kefir, kombucha, sauerkraut, and kimchi provide live beneficial microbes that reduce inflammation levels quickly. ZOE's ferment study with 9,000 participants showed that variety matters - different fermented foods provide different beneficial microbes, with some containing 30-40 different species compared to just 3 in regular yogurt.
Statistics & Facts
- If you change from a typical UK/US diet to an optimal diet at age 40, you can add 10 years of healthy life; at age 70, you can still add 6 years. (04:11)
- People eating ultra-processed foods consume approximately 25% more calories than those eating the same foods made from scratch, even when the nutritional content is identical. (24:07)
- ZOE's research shows that only about 25% of calories from processed foods are classified as "high risk," making the challenge more manageable than headlines suggesting 60% of our diet is problematic. (29:35)
