ZOE Science & Nutrition ZOE

Not all of us want to go to the gym 5 times a week, but what if there was a way to do quick, short high intensity 20 second exercises and still reap benefits - or does that sound too good to be true?
Javier and Jonathan break this down as they look at recent studies and results, optimizing exercise routines to achieve the desired health benefits, taking into account factors like intensity, duration, and frequency as well as discussing the effect of working from home vs commuting to the office.
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Mentioned in today’s episode:
The Effects of High Intensity Interval Training vs Steady State Training on Aerobic and Anaerobic Capacity; from The Journal of Sports and Science Medicine
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Episode transcripts are available here.
Is there a nutrition topic you’d like us to explore? Email us at podcast@joinzoe.com, and we’ll do our best to cover it.

Your gut microbiome, a bustling community of microorganisms, is a vital player in your overall health. It doesn’t just impact your digestive system — it has a profound influence on your brain health and well-being.
However, the gut microbiome is a complex, long misunderstood realm, and figuring out how it affects daily life can leave even the most dedicated health enthusiasts scratching their heads. 
Here at ZOE, we’ve transformed our understanding of this bustling microbial world, where both “good” and “bad” gut bacteria reside.
In today’s episode, Jonathan speaks with Prof. Nicola Segata and Prof. Tim Spector to explore how ZOE's microbiome testing and unique microbiome health scores provide personalized insights into your gut health.
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Nicola Segata is a professor and principal investigator at the Laboratory of Computational Metagenomics, at the CIBIO department of the University of Trento. His background is in metagenomics, machine learning, microbiome research, and microbial genomics.Tim Spector is ZOE's scientific co-founder and one of the world's top 100 most cited scientists.
Timecodes:
00:00 Introduction
01:41 Quick fire questions
03:38 Why should we care about gut microbes?
07:00 How many different microbes do we have in our gut?
11:37 Why would we want to measure our microbiome?
13:15 Can we change our microbiome?
18:00 Is it possible to make a dramatic change in your microbiome over time?
20:21 What does the latest data tell us about improving our diet?
23:24 How does the ZOE micobiome gut test work?
27:07 What goes on in the lab to get these results?
30:54 Is there enough information in the gut microbiome to make a full health assessment?
34:20 What can our microbes tell us about diseases?
35:55 What useful information does the microbiome test show us?
36:51 Are we still making new discoveries in the microbiome?
41:03 Do different microbes prefer specific foods?
43:14 How do different lifestyles around the world change your microbiome?
47:44 5 simple tips to improve gut health
50:45 How rapidly can you damage your microbiome?
53:58 Can taking painkillers regularly negatively impact the microbiome?
56:10 Summary
60:03 Goodbyes/Outro
Mentioned in today’s episode: 
The person-to-person transmission landscape of the gut and oral microbiomes from Nature Sharing of gut microbial strains between selected individual sets of twins cohabitating for decades from PLoS OneA genetic gift for sushi eaters from Nature
Find Nicola on ResearchGate and X.
Episode transcripts are available a...

There’s been a surge in our consumption of ultra-processed foods, especially in the United Kingdom and the United States, where these foods contribute about two-thirds of people’s caloric intake.
Also a cause for concern is emerging evidence of ultra-processed foods’ detrimental effect on our brain health and overall well-being.
When most of our calories come from ultra-processed foods, the risk of chronic physical and mental health conditions escalates. Scientists are now uncovering the intricate mechanisms behind this relationship, particularly concerning the effects of these foods on our brains.
In today’s episode, we welcome back Prof. Felice Jacka, OAM. Felice is an Alfred Deakin professor of nutritional psychiatry and the director of the Food & Mood Centre at Deakin University, in Australia. She’s also the founder of the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research and the world’s leading researcher on food’s impact on our brain and mental health.
Now, she’s back on the show to delve deeper into the effects of ultra-processed foods on mental health and the brain, specifically the hippocampus, an area responsible for learning and memory.
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Timecodes:
00:00 Intro
01:19 Quick fire questions
04:17 What is ultra processed food?
05:37 What is the NOVA classification?
08:18 How does food impact the brain?
10:33 What does the hippocampus do to influence our brain function?
12:58 Is there a link between the size of the hippocampus and quality of diet?
13:45 Is there a link between the quality of diet and depression?
20:37 What are the effects of long term dietary habits?
21:33 Is there a link between poor diet and dementia
23:18 Is there a link between autism and diet?
24:00 How real is the link between diet and dementia?
24:57 What is the oral microbiome?
28:16 New trial between whole foods and vitamin enriched nutritional foods
29:28 How does processing foods impact the makeup of foods on a molecular level?
32:10 How does the biodiversity around us affect our body?
33:08 How does the industrialized food environment impact us?
35:50 How strong is the evidence for this? is it comparable to smoking?
39:12 Practical tips to help with our diet
40:07 How does reducing consumption of UPF affect us?
41:25 How to cut down on UPF
44:04 Is it too late to change your diet?
45:39 Does exercise impact our brain?
47:41 Summary
52:57 Goodbyes/Outro
Mentioned in today’s episode: 
The SMILES trial published in BMC Medicine Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Mental Health published in NutrientsWestern diet is associated with a smaller hippocampus also in BMC Medicine 
Learn more about Felice on the Food & Mood Centre’s website.
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Most of us like to have breakfast before we exercise in the morning, but what happens if we don’t eat anything first?
The issue goes beyond weight loss and exercise timing to involve blood sugar, insulin sensitivity, and other — perhaps unexpected — aspects of your health.
In today’s short episode of ZOE Science & Nutrition, Jonathan and Professor Javier Gonzalez ask: Should we exercise on an empty stomach?
If you want to uncover the right foods for your body, head to joinzoe.com/podcast and get 10% off your personalised nutrition program.
Mentioned in today’s episode:
Lipid metabolism links nutrient-exercise timing to insulin sensitivity in men classified as overweight or obese from The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 
Body composition changes associated with fasted versus non-fasted aerobic exercise from Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 
The Acute Effects of Interrupting Prolonged Sitting Time in Adults with Standing and Light-Intensity Walking on Biomarkers of Cardiometabolic Health in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis from Sport Medicine 
Exercising Tactically for Taming Postmeal Glucose Surges from Hindawi 
Exercise-stimulated glucose uptake — regulation and implications for glycaemic control from Nature Reviews Endocrinology
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Episode transcripts are available here.
Is there a nutrition topic you’d like us to explore? Email us at podcast@joinzoe.com, and we’ll do our best to cover it.

As a listener to this show, you’ve probably heard of the gut microbiome. But did you know that your skin has its own microbiome? 
Recent evidence suggests that these microbiomes are vital for our skin health. So, what should we do? Which foods make an impact? 
And if we want our skin to look healthier, how about those collagen supplements that many of you have asked us about? 
In today’s episode, our guest is Dr. Justine Kluk, a consultant dermatologist with a specialist interest in acne. Justine is a member of the British Association of Dermatologists, the Royal Society of Medicine, and the Royal College of Physicians. 
ZOE’s Chief Scientist Dr. Sarah Berry also joins as a cohost to explore these ideas. 
Download our FREE guide — Top 10 Tips to Live Healthier: zoe.com/freeguide
Help us win a Lovie award: vote here
Timecodes:
00:00 Intro
02:01 Quick Fire questions
03:52 What does skin do?
04:51 Why is the skin so important?
06:34 Is there a correlation between aging skin and health?
07:41 What is the skin microbiome?
11:46 Is exposure to the natural environment beneficial for children?
12:39 Can we change the skin microbiome?
13:32 Would an oral or topical probiotic help improve our skin microbiome
15:11 What can we do to help support the skin barrier?
15:39 Can overwashing/scrubbing disturb your skin?
16:40 Why does acne matter?
18:37 Is acne just found in teenagers?
19:12 What effect does menopause have on your skin?
20:36 What impact does diet have on acne?
22:14 Are diets with high glycemic content bad for acne?
23:01 What is happening to create the effects of acne?
24:23 Is there a connection between our gut health and skin health?
25:15 Practical advice for people with acne
28:16 Diet tips to help support healthy skin
29:51 How has the ZOE diet gone down in Jonathan and Justine's household?
32:54 How can the ZOE diet help with day-to-day cooking habits?
35:46 What causes skin aging?
37:44 What can we do to slow down skin aging?
39:55 Do collagen supplements work to keep your skin youthful?
41:52 How can retinol help your skin?
42:30 3 things that could help keep your skin young
43:31 Top nutrition skin myths
45:50 How important is it to apply sun protection?
46:36 How does stress impact our skin?
48:38 Questions for Jonathan
54:57 Summary & Outro
Mentioned in today’s episode: 
Mortality is written on the face from The Journals of Gerontology: Series AToo clean, or not too clean: the hygiene hypothesis and home hygiene from Clinical & Experimental AllergyImpact of outdoor nature-related activities on gut microbiota, fecal serotonin, and perceived stress in preschool children from Scientific Reports
Justine shares more in-depth skincare and acne information at drjustinekluk.com and as @drjustinekluk on Instagram 
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Millions of us are counting calories every day. But do we know if those numbers truly reflect the energy we get from eating?
It’s about time that we debunked the “one-size-fits-all” approach to calorie counting and unmasked the outdated methodologies that contribute to inaccuracies in food labeling.
In today’s episode, Jonathan and Dr. Sarah Berry ask: How exactly do we measure calories, and is calorie counting actually effective?
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Follow ZOE on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoe
Mentioned in today’s episode:
The Wilbur Olin Atwater Papers from the United States Department of Agriculture
Is there a nutrition topic you’d like us to explore? Email us at podcast@joinzoe.com, and we’ll do our best to cover it. 
Episode transcripts are available here.