The health conscious among us may have come across the Zoe Science and Nutrition channel or podcast. The have recently been inviting experts from various fields in dietary science to discuss their findings and offer practical takeaways to listeners. Below is a summary of some of their insights. This summary will be updated as more videos by Zoe are released.   

What does science say about intermittent fasting?

• There are short term benefits to intermittent fasting (time restricted eating)
• Consume black coffee, black tea, plain water only while fasting   
• Studies showed that time restricted eating lengthened the life of mice
• Studies on people showed short term improvements in blood sugar, insulin, blood fat, etc. metabolic health improved

Saturated Fat: Monstrous or Misunderstood?

• Dietary fats are vital part of one’s diet, providing essential omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids (poly-unsaturated fats)
• Mono-unsaturated fats are good too
• The above fats are not produced by the body, and they tend to come from plants
• Saturated fats are found in butter, meats, etc. they tend to be found in animals
• Overconsumption of saturated fats is linked with certain chronic diseases
• But saturated fats from ultra-processed foods are worse than those from natural sources
• So saturated fats in moderation from natural sources are fine and even preferable to a refined carbohydrate diet

How healthy are meat and dairy alternatives?

• It’s much better to eat real plants rather than their alternatives. E.g., a plant-based patty pales in comparison to eating a vegetable in its original form, like a giant mushroom
• A natural animal-based meat would also be nutritionally superior to a meat alternative
• Milk alternatives are neither healthy nor unhealthy; for those who can tolerate lactose, dairy milk is superior nutritionally

Processed Foods: Convenient or Catastrophic?

• Processing is anything done to food that alters its natural state; there are gradations
• Finely chopped foods make the body metabolize the food quicker, creating blood sugar spikes and dips, which then leads to inflammation and other unwanted health outcomes
• Some processes like fermentation to create foods like kimchi and sauerkraut are beneficial to gut microbial diversity
• Some foods need to be processed to be digestible
• Processing that adds unhealthy ingredients are the ones to avoid, e.g., sugar, salt, hydrogenated vegetable oils, etc.

Superfoods

• There is no superfood
• There is a super diet: plant based and highly unprocessed; berries, fish, leafy greens, nuts, olive oil, live yoghurt, legumes, and more

Surprising Lessons from a 5000-year-old Mummy

• Reduce anti-biotic intake to maintain gut microbial diversity

What does Tim Spector eat in a day?

• Black coffee, full fat Greek style yoghurt, no other ingredients, self-made kefir, mixed nuts and seeds, berries
• Avocado on sourdough bread with extra-virgin olive oil, with paprika and tomatoes and sauerkraut, finally, beans
• Cauliflower, onions, herbs and spices, kefir, coriander
• Try to eat 30 plants a week; have some fermented foods; colorful plants; cut out ultra-processed foods as much as possible

Gas and bloating: the causes and how to stop it

• 4 main causes of bloating are swallowed air, constipation, struggling gut microbiome, and food choices
• Common sources of swallowed air: carbonated drinks, sipping through straws, chewing gum, aggressive eating  
• Regarding food choices, eliminate non-fermented dairy and artificial sweeteners
• Progressively improving food choices will also help with constipation and the gut, assuming the gas and bloating are caused by the above

How food can improve your mood

• We can improve mental health with dietary changes
• People who eat healthy diets (Mediterranean like) have a 30% lowered chance of experiencing clinical depression
• Frozen vegetables, legumes, fish, whole unprocessed foods, plant-based, diverse

How to improve your gut health

• Eat 30 kinds of plants each week
• Breakfast can be dried fruits, nuts and seeds, on top of steel-cut oat porridge
• Mixed grains simmered into salads, omelet, curry, etc.  
• Use whole wheat flours when baking
• Make your own sourdough
• Eat a diet high in fermented foods – kombucha, kefir, kimchi and kraut
• Having a dog as a pet is good for gut microbes

Heart health and aging: Do our blood vessels hold the secret to long life?

• Food can help reverse existing damage to blood vessels
• Cholesterol can be reduced without statins
• There is a link between blood vessel health and dementia
• Heart and circulatory system are among the first things created in the womb
• Blood vessels are supposed to be elastic, so that blood can get through
• If they cannot stretch, blood can’t get through
• Blood vessels get stiffer with age and constricted by plaque, and further worsened by the western diet, i.e., sugary and salty ultra-processed foods
• Stents and statins were invented for the above
• Lifestyle changes work too
• Bodies are designed to handle plant-based food, blood stream is not adapted for high spikes in circulating fat, which foods high in saturated fat have some influence on
• High blood pressure is a silent killer

High cholesterol foods: What really happens when you eat them?

• Cholesterol is essential for normal functioning of bodies
• It is a waxy substance made in the liver, which the body uses to make cells, produce vitamin D, hormones, etc.
• Can be attained from diet as well
• Good and bad cholesterol are the ones that are circulating in blood
• LDL is bad cholesterol, and HDL is good, because it returns cholesterol from body to the liver to be broken down again
• High LDL relative to HDL is related to certain diseases, e.g., heart disease
• Reducing dietary cholesterol plays a very small role in the constitution of cholesterol in the blood, i.e., low fat diets and low cholesterol diets are outdated and hence bad advice
• As long as the average intake of dietary cholesterol, i.e., 300mg of cholesterol a day is maintained, it will have almost no influence on blood cholesterol
• A dietary path to effectively reducing LDL include a diet rich in soy protein, plant sterols, tree nuts and soluble fiber (i.e., plant-based stuff)

Artificial Sweeteners – worse than sugar?  

• They are not just in diet soft drinks but in many other kinds of food
• Sugar, when consumed in excess, leads to obesity, diabetes, and many other chronic illnesses
• Sugar substitutes are popular because they have fewer calories, and reduce the large peaks and dips in blood sugar, which is associated with inflammation, elevated hunger, and more
• Artificial sweeteners may impair the effect of glucose control, they may negatively impact gut microbial diversity, and they may increase the desire for sweet foods
• Bodies are good at maintaining energy intake, so switching to sugar alternatives tend not to change energy intake and therefore body weight
• The ideal option is to reduce sugar without replacing it with sugar substitutes

Can spices improve your health? with Kanchan Koya and Professor Tim Spector

• Spices can improve health
• They can reduce inflammation  
• A spice is a leaf, root, bark, berry, bud, seed, and stigma of a plant or flower used for the purposes of cooking
• They are typically concentrated and used to enhance the flavor of food
• They have phytochemicals that are good for health
• Spices that give a good band for buck are: Turmeric (curcumin) paired with black pepper for greater bioavailability, cinnamon (true cinnamon is superior to cassia cinnamon), sumac, and ginger    
• Adding spices to existing diet is the easiest way to incorporate them
• Off the counter spice could have taken 2 years to get there from when they were harvested
• They should be stored in airtight containers and away from heat and light

How to control blood sugar spikes

• Sugar is a poison to the body
• Eating carbs creates an increase in circulating blood sugar that returns to normal after around 2 hours
• Excessive peaks have an impact on disease, via oxidative stress and inflammation
• Signs of blood sugar spikes include having cravings, becoming very hungry again right after eating, energy dips throughout the day
• For a clearer picture, consider getting a continuous glucose monitor  
• The order of eating can lower blood sugar spikes: vegetables first, proteins and fats second, and starches and sugars last
• A tablespoon of vinegar as dressing or in a glass of water before a meal can curb glucose spikes by up to 30%
• Reduce starchy and sweet foods in general  
• Use muscles (i.e., exercise) for 10 minutes within an hour after eating to reduce blood sugar spikes further

 Fiber: Why it’s important and how to get more of it

• Fiber is a type of carbohydrate that the body is not able to digest
• There is soluble and insoluble fiber
• Soluble fiber can lower blood glucose levels and circulating cholesterol
• All plants contain fiber, as well as fruits, whole grains, seeds, nuts, and legumes
• Reduces chances of heart disease, several types of cancer, less likely to have a stroke and to be diagnosed with diabetes
• Fiber is good for the gut as well

Can bread be healthy?

• In common white bread, the starch is released as sugar into the body very quickly, spiking blood sugar
• Most breads found in supermarkets are ultra-processed, avoid them
• Look for a low carb to fiber ratio in the ingredients list
• It should mention whole gain in the ingredients list as well, and have as few ingredients as possible
• Artisan bakeries are a better bet for good quality bread
• Avoid bread that is put in supermarket bags with no label: they are likely not fresh from the oven but a year old, pre-frozen and pre-cooked
• Home-made sourdough is a good alternative

Is Coffee Healthy

• Coffee is a high fiber food
• 1-5 cups of coffee is the healthy range
• Arabica is superior to Robusta
• Decaf coffee can have the same health benefits i.e., polyphenols and fiber, as long as its roasted fresh, not the grounded instant kind

Is Dark Chocolate Good for Weight Loss?

• Chocolate (cocoa) is a fermented food, and is good for gut microbes
• Most chocolates in supermarkets are not good for you
• 70% cocoa and above is where chocolate likely starts to get healthy for you
• The first ingredient should always be cocoa, definitely not sugar  
• There should not be a bunch of additives in the list either  
• Start with craft chocolate, i.e., specialty chocolate, and then further refine your search with the ingredient list suggested above

Fats and Oils: What’s the Real Story?

• Eating fats can reduce blood sugar spikes
• Fat that is added to food is different to fat that is intrinsic to the food
• Dietary cholesterol does not increase blood cholesterol, it’s the type of fat consumed that increases cholesterol levels
• Saturated fats in butter, palm oil, animal fats can increase cholesterol
• Carbs can also affect cholesterol levels in a bad way, especially processed carbs
• Some types of sunflower oil and extra virgin olive oil are the healthier oils to cook with (oils with lots of monounsaturated fatty acids), as well as soybean oil
• Avoid other kinds of oils