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ZOE Science & Nutrition
ZOE Science & Nutrition

ZOE Science & Nutrition

The world’s top scientists explain the latest health, nutrition, and gut health research and translate it into practical advice to improve your health & weight. Join ZOE Science & Nutrition, on a journey of scientific discovery. Hosted by Jonathan Wolf.

Available Episodes 10

Download our FREE guide — Top 10 Tips to Live Healthier: https://zoe.com/freeguide

Can the power of your thoughts help defy aging? Could your mind help improve your eyesight or even heal wounds faster? 

These ideas might seem far-fetched, but our guest, Harvard Professor Ellen Langer, has spent four decades uncovering the real science behind this.

In this episode, discover how to harness your mind-body connection to enhance your well-being.

Ellen Langer is an American professor of psychology at Harvard University. In 1981, she became the first woman ever to be tenured in psychology at Harvard. 

Prof. Langer studies the illusion of control, decision-making, aging, and mindfulness theory.

If you want to uncover the right foods for your body, head to ZOE.com/podcast, and get 10% off your personalized nutrition program.

Follow ZOE on Instagram.

Timecodes:

00:00 Introduction

01:48    Quickfire questions

04:34    The mind and body should be understood as one unit

05:42 The counterclockwise study

06:51 Chambermaid exercise study

09:33    What is Mindfulness?

10:59 All of the misery we experience is a function of our mindlessness

14:47    Mindful optimism

23:12    Everything should be different, every day of your life

25:33    How Ellen approaches a simple eyesight test    

28:21 We have more control over our health and lives than we think…

33:35    Placebos could be our strongest medicines…

39:00    Blood sugar study results

44:50    How to approach mindfulness

54:05    Summary


Mentioned in today’s episode: 

Ageing as a mindset: A counterclockwise experiment to rejuvenate older adults sponsored by Catholic University of the Sacred Heart

Mind-set matters: Exercise and the placebo effect from Psychological Science

The Mindful Body and Mindfulness, two books by Prof. Langer


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.

Download our FREE guide — Top 10 Tips to Live Healthier: https://zoe.com/freeguide

Do you feel like your muscles are shrinking or getting weaker? Many people gradually lose muscle mass as they get older. And this leads to an increased risk of falls, osteoporosis, and fractures. 

When it comes to your muscles, it’s a case of use them or lose them. But what is the most effective way to use our muscles and maintain strength? Ex-bodybuilder Brad Schoenfeld tells us how. And It’s easier than you might think!

In today’s episode of ZOE Science & Nutrition, Jonathan and Brad ask: How can you maintain muscle mass as you age? 

If you want to uncover the right foods for your body, head to joinzoe.com/podcast and get 10% off your personalised nutrition program.

Follow ZOE on Instagram

Timecodes:

00:00 - Introduction 

1:25 - Quickfire round

2:38 - How do our muscles work

3:01 - Why are muscles important for our health

5:15 - The loss of muscles and how to prevent it

8:19 - Resistance training - How it builds muscles

11:24 - Nutrition and muscle growth

13:01 - How muscle growth changes with age

17:45 - Resistance training vs Cardio

20:20 - How to do resistance training

28:11 - No time to exercise?

30:28 - What weight to train with

36:10 - How menopause affects muscle maintenance

41:13 - Summary and outro


Mentioned in today’s episode: 


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. 

Download our FREE guide — Top 10 Tips to Live Healthier: zoe.com/freeguide

Help us win a Lovie award: vote here

More than 50 systemic health conditions — including Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and heart disease — are associated with oral disease. 

The link between systemic and oral conditions is always microbial, inflammatory, or both. So, how can we look after our gums to improve our health?

In today’s episode, Jonathan and Prof. Alp Kantarci pose the question: How does the health of your oral cavity shape your general health?

Alp is a professor and oral health researcher, dental implant surgeon, and faculty member at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. He has published more than 85 articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals and has presented more than 170 talks and posters at dental and medical congresses.

Follow ZOE on Instagram.

Timecodes:

01:35 - Quickfire questions

04:11 - What is oral health?

08:35 - How is our oral health connected to the health of the rest of our body?

11:01 - Oral microbiome

18:48 - Why does bad oral health affect the rest of the body?

22:47 - How much does the state of our oral health contribute to dementia?

25:48 - The link between oral health and diabetes

28:31 - The link between oral health and cardiovascular diseases

32:41 - What are the key steps to look after our oral health?

35:36 - Alp’s view on mouthwash

37:51 - Oral health & probiotics

42:22 - Impact of food on our oral health

45:45 - Does sparkling water affect our oral health?

50:04 - Summary

52:34 - Goodbyes

52:41 - Outro

Mentioned in today’s episode: 

Dementia and the risk of periodontitis: A population-based cohort study from the Journal of Dental Research.

Microglial response to experimental periodontitis in a murine model of Alzheimer’s disease from Scientific Reports.

Fusobacterium nucleatum dissemination by neutrophils from the Journal of Oral Microbiology.

Safety and preliminary efficacy of a novel host-modulatory therapy for reducing gingival inflammation from Frontiers in Immunology.


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. 


Download our FREE guide — Top 10 Tips to Live Healthier: zoe.com/freeguide

Help us win a Lovie award: vote here

Dr. Peter Attia doesn’t want a slow death. He doesn’t want his final years to be defined by poor mental and physical faculties that only worsen as the years roll by. But, by making changes to his lifestyle today, he’s taking control of his health tomorrow.

In today’s episode of ZOE Science & Nutrition, Jonathan and Peter ask: How can you maintain your health as you age? 

If you want to uncover the right foods for your body, head to joinzoe.com/podcast, and get 10% off your personalized nutrition program.

Timecodes:

00:00 - Introduction 

1:29 - Quickfire round

3:14 - Healthspan vs lifespan

09:52 - The difference between slow and quick death 

12:23 - What diseases cause slow death

13:34 - Acting before there’s a problem

16:17 - Is it too late to improve my future health

19:20 - How to improve modern medicine

25:07 - The importance of blood sugar

33:03 - The centanarian decathlon

34:00 - Cardio training

38:00 - Strength training

40:43 - Summary and outro

Follow ZOE on Instagram

Mentioned in today’s episode: 


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. 

Get science-based nutrition advice straight to your inbox: https://bit.ly/44xRywM

If you want to uncover the right foods for your body, head to joinzoe.com/podcast and get 10% off your personalised nutrition program.

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.

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

Follow ZOE on Instagram

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.

Get science-based nutrition advice straight to your inbox: https://bit.ly/44xRywM

If you want to uncover the right foods for your body, head to joinzoe.com/podcast and get 10% off your personalised nutrition program.

  • 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: 


Find Nicola on ResearchGate and X.

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. 

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.

Get science-based nutrition advice straight to your inbox: https://bit.ly/44xRywM

If you want to uncover the right foods for your body, head to joinzoe.com/podcast and get 10% off your personalised nutrition program.

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: 


Learn more about Felice on the Food & Mood Centre’s website.

Follow Felice on Instagram.

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.

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 Dr. Javier Gonzales ask: Should we exercise on an empty stomach?

Get science-based nutrition advice straight to your inbox: https://bit.ly/44xRywM

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

Follow ZOE on Instagram

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. 

If you want to uncover the right foods for your body, head to joinzoe.com/podcast, and get 10% off your personalized nutrition program.

Get science-based nutrition advice straight to your inbox: https://bit.ly/47QyQTp 

Vote for us in the British Podcast Awards VOTE

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: 



Justine shares more in-depth skincare and acne information at drjustinekluk.com and as @drjustinekluk on Instagram 

Follow ZOE on Instagram

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. 


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?

Get science-based nutrition advice straight to your inbox: https://bit.ly/44xRywM

If you want to uncover the right foods for your body, head to joinzoe.com/podcast and get 10% off your personalised nutrition program.


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.

Mentioned in this episode:

BPA CTA Listeners Choice