Celebrity Health – Professor Tim Spector

Image of Dr Professor Tim Spector © Issy Croker

Gut health guru and Zoe app founder Professor Tim Spector talks to Liz Parry about his new book, which focuses on the health benefits of fermented foods

Professor Tim Spector is one of Britain’s best-known microbiome experts, famed for turning complex science into clear, understandable health advice for the public. He is Professor of Epidemiology at King’s College London, and the scientific co-founder of ZOE, the nutrition science company. Tim has written numerous bestselling books, including The Diet Myth, Spoon-Fed, Food for Life and The Food for Life Cookbook. Here, he talks to Your Healthy Living about his latest book, Ferment: The Life-Changing Power of Microbes.

Q Your new book features some impressive research on the health benefits of fermented foods in terms of gut health, immunity, mental health and inflammation. What was the most surprising or exciting discovery that you made whilst researching it?

Tim: I think one of the biggest findings was a study we did with ZOE of over 9,000 volunteers: a sort of citizen science project. We asked the volunteers to increase their intake of fermented foods to three portions a day and to track their symptoms. Within a couple of weeks, over 50% of the volunteers experienced improvements across the board, including their gut health, mental health and energy levels.

Q: Do you hope your book will change the way that people think about gut health and fermented foods?

Tim: Yes, that’s my hope. If we can accelerate this trend and get more people eating fermented foods, then great. That’s what I want people to do: think about food differently.

Q: You recommend that people eat three portions of fermented foods a day. Can you give us some examples of easy ways that people can do that?

Tim: The easiest is Greek yoghurt. You can mix it with milk kefir initially, on a 50/50 basis, to get used to the sourness, then slowly build up the amount of kefir you’re putting in. Try kombucha as an alternative to alcohol, or water kefir, which most people have never tried. Add sauerkraut or kimchi to meals or salads to spice things up. I remember working with Davina McCall, and she said she hated kimchi but wanted to eat it. I told her to mix it with cream cheese and put it on rye bread. She tried it and eventually she grew to love it.

Q: What are your three favourite fermented foods and why?

Tim: I do like sauerkraut because it’s so versatile and you can add it to almost anything. You can add it to your avocado toast in the morning, you can put it on salads or put it in soup. You can add it to almost any dish. Then there’s kefir: in our tests, some had over 60 different species of microbes, which is 20 times more than yoghurt. And the third would be kombucha. I enjoy making it, and it’s a nice alternative to beer or sugary sodas.

Q: If people are too busy to make their own fermented foods, can they still benefit from buying shop-bought varieties?

Tim: Yes, most are going yto give some good health benefits. There are some very good products out there, but bear in mind that they shouldn't have a shelf life of three years and they should be in the chilled section. Get out there and test them, and once you find something you like, maybe try making your own.

Q: Could you tell us a bit about your own diet?

Tim: I try to vary my diet and make sure that I eat 30 plants a week. Breakfast is usually Greek yogurt and milk kefir with berrties, nuts and seeds. Lunchtimes are highly variable. Today, I was on a film shoot so I had some rye biscuits with hummus and shop-bought sauerkraut, plus some carrots and tomatoes. In the evening I will usually have a diverse plant-based meal, often with cheese and kimchi. I like to have that with a glass of red wine, followed by a bit of dark chocolate.

Q: Do you have any other regular wellness habits?

Tim: I do Transcendental Meditation once or twice a day. I try to exercise daily, depending on where I am. I'll go swimming in the summer and cycling in the winter, and I also do some yoga and weights. I aim for at least half an hour of exercise a day.

Q: What is the most rewarding aspect of your work?

Tim: I'm always humbled when people stop me in the street to say that the books or the podcast has literally changed their life. When you hear their stories and positive feedback, it makes everything worthwhile.

Ferment: The Life-Changing Power of Microbes by Tim Spector (£25, Jonathan Cape) is out now.

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