ZOE Science & Nutrition

Today, we’re diving into some popular drinks.

Coffee has long been the undisputed champion of hot beverages. Its bitter taste is an essential part of most people's morning. However, there’s a new kid on the block. You might have seen its distinctive green hue cropping up in cafés, supermarkets or even TikTok. I am of course talking about matcha.

So how do coffee and matcha compare? Do they work differently in the body? And is one better for your long-term health?

I’m joined by matcha expert Andrew Kojima and Professor Tim Spector to explore the science behind our daily pick-me-ups - and discover whether we should be switching sides.

🌱 Try our science-backed and tasty wholefood supplement Daily 30+

Get our brand-new app and Gut Health Test designed by world-leading gut health and nutrition scientists to build healthy eating habits 👉 Join ZOE

Follow ZOE on Instagram.

📚Books by our ZOE Scientists

The Food For Life Cookbook

Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati

Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector

Ferment by Prof. Tim Spector

Free resources from ZOE

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

Intermittent fasting may help with blood sugar, appetite, fat loss, and energy. But many people do it wrong. 

In this episode, Professor James Betts, one of the world’s leading experts on meal timing and its metabolic effects, explains what fasting actually is, how long you need to fast to see changes, and the key mistakes that can stop the benefits.

Today, we break down what happens in your body when you stop eating and explain why it may support weight loss and blood sugar control, but also why fasting doesn’t work for everyone. You will learn why breakfast may not matter, why the 5:2 diet often fails, and why eating even small amounts can stop a true fast.

By the end of this episode, you will understand what counts as a real fast, how long your eating window may need to be, why longer is not always better if you cannot stick to it, and why planning your first meal matters, because hunger can drive poor choices.

If fasting can work, but is not magic, what actually makes the difference: the timing, the consistency, or simply eating less?

🌱 Try our science-backed and tasty wholefood supplement Daily 30

Get our brand-new app and Gut Health Test designed by world-leading gut health and nutrition scientists to build healthy eating habits 👉 Join ZOE

Follow ZOE on Instagram.

Timecodes

00:00 Intro

02:30 The answers that completely contradict fasting advice

09:10 What fasting really means (it’s not what you think)

12:10 Why most people never actually fast

14:25 Why “eat to fuel your day” may be wrong

16:00 The 3 types of fasting people confuse

17:30 Why 5:2 might not work the way you think

18:15 The tiny mistake that ruins a fast

19:45 Why stricter fasting can feel easier

20:20 Why hunger disappears after a few days

21:20 What happened when he fasted for 5 days

22:35 What you can actually have during a fast

24:25 Do coffee and tea break your fast?

26:20 The truth about breakfast (finally tested)

28:15 The breakfast result no one expected

29:15 The hidden downside of fasting

32:20 What your body switches to when you stop eating

34:25 What really happens on day two of fasting

35:30 Why fasting might improve your health

37:05 Does fasting reduce inflammation?

38:25 What fasting actually helps with

39:20 How much weight people really lose

40:00 The most effective way to fast

41:00 The minimum fasting window that works

42:30 Who benefits most from fasting

44:30 Should you exercise before eating?

47:20 Do your eating times need to be consistent?

50:25 Does olive oil secretly break a fast?

51:45 The one rule for breaking a fast

53:40 The biggest takeaway about fasting

58:15 Should you actually try fasting?

📚Books by our ZOE Scientists

The Food For Life Cookbook

Every Body Should Know This 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 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

Effect of the 5:2 Diet on Weight Loss and Cardiovascular Disease Risk, The International Journal of Endocrinology (2025)

Intermittent fasting ‘no magic bullet for weight loss’, Science Translational Medicine (2021)

Bath Breakfast Project, Springer (2011)

The role of intermittent fasting and meal timing in weight management and metabolic health. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, (2020)

The causal role of breakfast in energy balance and health: a randomized controlled trial in lean adults. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, (2014)

Nutrient timing and metabolic regulation. The Journal of Physiology, (2022)

Calorie counting vs. minute counting; does nutrient timing matter for weight-loss? Current Opinion on Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care, (2025)

Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here.
Episode transcripts are available here.

Today we’re talking about mobility well as you age.

As we get older, staying mobile becomes even more important. But often, it also becomes more difficult too. 

So today, we’re going to break down some barriers, take the slog out of staying active, and make movement fun.

I’m joined by Gabby Reece and Dr Federica Amati to explore simple ways to stay agile as we age. From the surprising benefits of walking backwards, jumping in a swimming pool, and not wearing shoes.

📚Books by our ZOE Scientists

The Food For Life Cookbook

Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati

Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector

Ferment by Prof. Tim Spector

Free resources from ZOE

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

Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know hereListen to the full episode here

Most people think you need to poo every day to be healthy. You don’t. In this episode, we explain how to tell if your poo is normal, the warning signs you shouldn’t ignore, and the gut mistake you may be making on the toilet every day. 

Dr Trisha Pasricha, a leading Harvard gastroenterologist, a columnist for the Washington Post and author of the book You’ve Been Pooping All Wrong, explains how your poo, gut health, and disease risk are linked, and when you should see a doctor.

Dr Pasricha guides us through why frequency, colour, and consistency all matter, and why there is no single “normal.” You’ll learn how to spot changes that could signal disease, including early warning signs linked to cancer and long-term brain health.

You’ll hear simple advice you can use straight away. This includes how to recognise your normal pattern, what changes to look out for, and how to avoid the common toilet habit that may affect your gut.

Are you looking at your poo every day? And, if not, what might you notice if you did?

🌱 Try our science-backed and tasty wholefood supplement Daily 30

Get our brand-new app and Gut Health Test designed by world-leading gut health and nutrition scientists to build healthy eating habits 👉 Join ZOE

Follow ZOE on Instagram.

Timecodes

00:00 Intro

03:11 Your phone on the toilet: hidden risk?

07:26 Your colon runs on a clock

10:40 The illness that changed his gut for years

13:05 Why you should look before you flush

15:25 The poo colours you should never ignore

16:25 Why this sign is rising in younger adults

18:15 The stool colour doctors treat as urgent

19:27 What “perfect” poo actually looks like

21:05 What holding it in really does

23:05 The 3 things that control your bowel movements

25:35 Why gut problems are getting worse

26:43 The posture fix most people miss

27:35 The phone habit linked to 46% higher risk

29:47 Why your phone keeps you stuck there

32:35 The hidden gut–brain connection

34:50 What stress really does to your gut

36:50 Your gut may be controlling more than you think

38:50 Is IBS really misunderstood?

41:05 The theory that changes how we see Parkinson’s

44:15 The gut damage linked to future brain disease

47:45 The simple rule for better bowel movements

49:00 The foods that changed gut health in weeks

50:22 The surprising fix for constipation

52:05 The 2 habits most people ignore

54:31 A 60-second trick to calm your gut

55:30 If you change one thing, make it this

56:10 What matters most

📚Books by our ZOE Scientists

The Food For Life Cookbook

Every Body Should Know This 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

Eating for Better Brain Health: Your brain-gut blueprint

Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks 

Better Breakfast Guide

Mentioned in today's episode

You’ve Been Pooping All Wrong by Dr Trisha Pasricha

Gastrointestinal Symptoms in the United States, The American Journal of Gastroenterology (2018)

Smartphone use on the toilet and the risk of hemorrhoids, PLOS One (2025)

Impacts of Gut Bacteria on Human Health and Diseases, International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2015)

Association between Early Adverse Life Events and Irritable Bowel Syndrome, CGH (2011)

Management of Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Parkinson's Disease: A Comprehensive, National Library of Medicine (2024)

Constipation and risk of dementia in adults, Frontiers (2025)

Gastrointestinal issues and Autism Spectrum Disorder, Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America (2020)

Stanford fermented foods study

Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Nutrients (2025)

Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here.

Episode transcripts are available here.

Today we’re going prehistoric.

We have to stay sharp at ZOE. Nutritional science moves fast, so it’s important for us to stay up to date with new discoveries and the latest advice. 

However, every now and then, it helps to look back - way back.

In this recap, we’re turning to a rather unusual teacher: a 5,000-year-old Iceman, preserved in ice and carrying clues about the diet of our ancient ancestors.

I’m joined by Frank Maixner and Professor Tim Spector to uncover what this prehistoric man ate and what those findings can teach us about our diet today.

🌱 Try our new plant based wholefood supplement - Daily30+

*Naturally high in copper which contributes to normal energy yielding metabolism and the normal function of the immune system

📚Books by our ZOE Scientists

The Food For Life Cookbook

Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati

Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector

Ferment by Prof. Tim Spector

Free resources from ZOE

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

Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here

Listen to the full episode here

The blueprint for your life starts much earlier than you realise - long before you took your first breath, before your heart beat its first beat, before your mum and dad even met. 

This is the story of the first 1,000 days of life. From conception to age 2, a window so powerful that scientists now believe it influences our future risk of heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and even how our immune system reacts to the world.

In this episode, the world’s leading expert on how childhood nutrition and metabolism shape our long-term health, Professor Lucilla Poston, explains how early nutrition may influence appetite, metabolism, and future disease risk. 

Lucilla and ZOE’s Head Nutritionist, Dr Federica Amati, break down what science says about pregnancy, early feeding and the food children eat, and questions how lifelong health is shaped before a child even chooses their first meal.

Lucilla offers practical guidance on what matters most and explains key nutrients to consider. They discuss why regular movement may help support healthy blood sugar levels. They also explain what a balanced diet can look like for parents and young children, why babies should try a wide range of whole foods, and why many packaged baby foods may contain far more sugar than parents expect.

What small choices can you make today to help shape a healthier future for you, your children, and your children’s children?

🌱 Try our science-backed and tasty wholefood supplement Daily 30

Get our brand-new app and Gut Health Test designed by world-leading gut health and nutrition scientists to build healthy eating habits 👉 Join ZOE

Follow ZOE on Instagram.

Timecodes

00:00 Intro

03:47 Why the first 1,000 days can shape your entire life

08:12 What happens in the womb doesn’t stay in the womb

11:16 The tiny window where everything can go wrong

13:35 Why obesity in pregnancy is now a silent epidemic

15:17 Can a father’s health affect a baby before it even exists?

17:50 The missing nutrient most women don’t realise they need

20:35 The simplest way to improve your chances of conceiving

22:31 Should pregnant women worry about getting it wrong?

24:25 The biggest lies about pregnancy you’ve probably heard

26:47 Why pregnancy nutrition isn’t about being perfect

28:13 Why some children are at higher risk before they’re born

30:05 Can a mother’s diet rewire a baby’s brain for life?

31:47 The hormone that could make you crave junk food forever

35:11 When a normal pregnancy change becomes dangerous

39:04 Why pregnancy diabetes doesn’t end after birth

40:07 The one habit that lowers blood sugar during pregnancy

42:11 What pregnant women should actually be eating

45:37 The truth about ‘6 eggs a day’ and other diet myths

47:11 Why breast milk is more powerful than we ever realised

50:14 What babies should eat (and what to avoid)

52:13 The truth about baby food pouches parents aren’t told

55:20 The shocking reality of childhood obesity today

60:19 Is it too late to undo what happened before birth?

📚Books by our ZOE Scientists

The Food For Life Cookbook

Every Body Should Know This 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 Hormone Harmony Guide: Tuning Your Body’s Internal Orchestra

Eating for Better Brain Health: Your brain-gut blueprint

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

Paternal body mass index and offspring obesity, Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism (2023)

Lifestyle intervention in obese pregnancy, Nature (2022)

Exercise during pregnancy, BMJ (2026)

The long-term impact of obesity in pregnancy on offspring hypothalamic feeding pathways, Royal Society Open Science (2025)

Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here.

Episode transcripts are available here.

Today we’re looking at a novel way to improve our mental health.

If I’ve learnt anything from hosting this podcast, it’s just how interconnected all the systems in our body are. Nothing works in isolation, which means we often have to step back and look at the bigger picture if we want to improve a particular aspect of our health.

With this in mind, let’s shift our focus on mental health. Can we approach it from a different angle?

Harvard nutritional psychiatrist Dr. Uma Naidoo is here to explain the science behind the gut-brain axis, and how you can help one to help the other.

🌱 Try our new plant based wholefood supplement - Daily30+

*Naturally high in copper which contributes to normal energy yielding metabolism and the normal function of the immune system

📚Books by our ZOE Scientists

The Food For Life Cookbook

Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati

Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector

Ferment by Prof. Tim Spector

Free resources from ZOE

Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition

Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks 

Better Breakfast Guide

Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here
Listen to the full episode here

Is gut health just about taking a probiotic? Or could the bacteria in your gut be shaping your body fat, inflammation and cholesterol?

In this episode, Professor Nicola Segata, a pioneer of new gut technology, and ZOE’s Chief Scientist Professor Sarah Berry, explain a major breakthrough in gut science. After analysing more than 34,000 microbiomes, the team identified 50 gut bacteria strongly linked to better health. Even more striking, many of them were previously unknown to science.

Nicola explains how his team ranked hundreds of gut bacteria to define the “top 50” linked to better health, and explore how these bacteria group into patterns connected to inflammation, blood sugar, heart health and body fat.

We uncover how you can improve your overall health in weeks by optimising your microbiome, ask whether probiotics do what we think they do, and examine why plant diversity may matter more than any single supplement. This episode also reveals what happened when these findings were tested in trials, and why the results surprised even the scientists.

Are you feeding the right gut bacteria? And, if not, what will happen to your health if you start today?

🌱 Try our science-backed and tasty wholefood supplement Daily 30+

Get our brand-new app and Gut Health Test designed by world-leading gut health and nutrition scientists to build healthy eating habits 👉 Join ZOE

Follow ZOE on Instagram.

Timecodes

00:00 Intro

03:00 The biggest microbiome breakthrough in a decade

08:20 The problem with most gut research

10:25 Scientists identified the top 50 gut bacteria

11:05 The first real way to measure gut health

13:45 The “dark matter” scientists found in our guts

15:50 Why bad gut bacteria love sugar

16:30 The red meat chemical your microbes can create

18:30 The microbiome score out of 1,000

21:10 Why your microbiome is easier to change than your body

23:15 Old microbiome tests can reveal new discoveries

25:30 The 4 microbiome clusters linked to health

26:40 The gut clusters linked to inflammation, cholesterol and body fat

28:05 Why one “good bug” isn’t enough

31:25 Can diet really change your microbiome in weeks?

32:25 What happened when people changed their diet

35:10 The gold-standard trials behind this research

36:10 Why you can’t just take good bacteria in a pill

40:35 Probiotics vs prebiotics: the surprising result

41:50 The 30-plant result that shocked scientists

44:05 Why modern diets may starve our microbiome

46:10 You can pick up gut microbes from other people

47:45 Why one fibre supplement won’t fix your gut

50:35 The menopause example that shows gut bugs matter

54:30 What happens to your microbiome after antibiotics

58:35 The simple resistant starch gut health hack

📚Books by our ZOE Scientists

The Food For Life Cookbook

Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati

Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector

Ferment by Prof. Tim Spector

Free resources from ZOE

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

Huge microbiome breakthrough from ZOE, thanks to community science

Does ZOE work? The evidence

Introducing gut bug clusters

Sending babies to nursery completely reshapes their microbiomes, Nature (2026)

The foods you must avoid to live longer | Dan Buettner

Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here.

Episode transcripts are available here.

Today we’re talking about carbohydrates.

Pasta, potatoes, fruit and beans - carbs crop up everywhere. However, few topics in nutrition cause as much confusion. Are they essential fuel or the enemy of weight loss? Should we cut them down, or just choose our carbs more carefully?

I’m joined by Professor Tim Spector to help untangle the truth and answer your biggest carbohydrate questions.

Stick around to find out if freezing your bread makes it healthier.

🌱 Try our new plant based wholefood supplement - Daily30+

*Naturally high in copper which contributes to normal energy yielding metabolism and the normal function of the immune system

📚Books by our ZOE Scientists

The Food For Life Cookbook

Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati

Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector

Ferment by Prof. Tim Spector

Free resources from ZOE

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

Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know hereListen to the full episode here

What health habits actually protect your brain and long-term health? 

In this episode, Professor Tim Spector shares the seven health ideas he has changed his mind about after reviewing new research. From oral health and inflammation to vitamin D, sleep, and exercise, Tim explains the daily habits he now prioritises and helps us understand what we should do differently if the science changes.

Tim revisits 7 common health beliefs and explains how new evidence has shifted his thinking. He explores the link between oral health, inflammation and brain ageing, and discusses vitamin D, sunlight and omega-3s. The conversation also looks at sleep timing, exercise and how everyday habits interact with our biology.

Tim also shares the small changes he now makes in his own routine and provides practical ideas for incorporating them into your daily life.

We all know that science evolves as new evidence emerges, so if the research changes, should our daily health habits change too?

🌱 Try our science-backed and tasty wholefood supplement Daily 30+

Get our brand-new app and Gut Health Test designed by world-leading gut health and nutrition scientists to build healthy eating habits 👉 Join ZOE

Follow ZOE on Instagram.

Timecodes

00:00 Intro

04:00 The nutrition advice scientists completely reversed

08:30 How scientists decide if a health trend is real

10:30 The vitamin D discovery that fooled scientists for years

12:35 The one health belief Tim is more convinced about than ever

14:00 The public health threat Tim says may be worse than smoking

15:20 The new research linking oral health to dementia

17:05 How mouth bacteria may affect your brain

18:20 The test that revealed plastic in Tim’s blood

20:15 The simple changes Tim made to reduce microplastics

21:40 The omega-3 test most doctors still don’t use

23:05 Why Tim chose food over omega-3 supplements

24:50 The omega-3 measurement scientists now care about most

26:40 Should vegans worry about omega-3?

29:25 The vitamin deficiency Tim has had since he was 18

31:20 The surprising brain benefits of folic acid

33:10 Why supplements should be personalised

34:30 Why Tim changed his mind about vitamin D

36:15 The simple way sunlight doubled his vitamin D

38:10 Why we shouldn’t fear winter sun

39:45 The exercise change Tim made this year

42:05 The muscle supplement Tim thought was “complete rubbish”

43:30 The sleep rule Tim now follows every night

45:30 The unusual sleep experiment Tim tried

📚Books by our ZOE Scientists

The Food For Life Cookbook

Every Body Should Know This 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 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

What is your gut-brain connection and what role does nutrition play?

Oral Health and Dementia, Journal of Dental Research (2025)

Neuroinflammation: A Distal Consequence of Periodontitis, Journal of Dental Research (2022)

Vitamin D Supplementation and the Incidence of Fractures, JGIM (2024)

Does a good diet reduce your heart disease risk?

Vitamin B12 and Age-Related Cognitive Decline-Dementia and "Alzheimer's Disease", FNB (2024)

Vitamin D and Risk for Type 2 Diabetes, Annals of Internal Medicine (2023)

Effects of Creatine Supplementation and Resistance Training, Nutrients (2024)

Why you're probably breathing wrong (and what to do about it) | James Nestor

Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here.

Episode transcripts are available here.