Show Notes
How has new research changed the way we see nutritional health? What role do ultra-processed foods, fibre, gut microbes, inflammation and insulin resistance play in the new paradigm? Why does the gut microbiome affect our mental health? How can simply diversifying the quantity of plants in your diet change health outcomes radically? In this episode we have the complex topic of nutrition to get up to date on. There’s been so much research over the last 20 years that has contradicted some of our most deep seated preconceptions about food, so today we clarify science’s new take. We discuss the rise of lifestyle medicine as a solution to western health crises; individualised diet; ultra processed foods; fibre; glycemic index issues; the gut microbiome; inflammation; a variety of foods over restrictive diets; how to support the use of new GPL-1 weight loss drugs; and what the nutritional organisation Zoe is doing to make this all easier for the public to put into practice.
Fortunately our guest is a master at untangling all this nuance in a way that’s so easy for us Joe public to understand - medical scientist and clinical nutritionist, senior lecturer and researcher at Imperial College London and King’s College London, Dr. Federica Amati. She’s also Head Nutritionalist at ZOE and Head of Nutrition Science at WellFounded Health. She’s written 12 scientific papers and 3 books, “EveryBODY should know this”, “Recipes for better menopause”, and her brand new book “The Appetite reset”, which we discuss today.
What we discuss: 00:00 Intro 06:30 Worldwide pandemic of previously western-only diet related chronic diseases. 07:00 Western diet, exported to the rest of the world is a big part of the problem. 08:45 Sedentary lifestyle is also part of the metabolic dysfunction crisis. 09:15 The “Diabesity” crisis. 10:15 Dysfunctional food environments. 10:55 One size dos NOT fit all for diet. 11:45 Influencers are confusing the public. 16:25 Personalised diet issues: more required from the patient, more expensive. 18:00 Ultra-processed foods damage 1: quick energy uptake. 20:30 U.P.F. damage 2: High palatability - more delicious, harder to stop eating. 21:45 U.P.F. damage 3: Synthetic additives - unknown consequences & cocktail effect. 23:35 Processed food risk scale from Zoe nutrition can help people consider. 24:15 %60 of Uk calories are coming from ultra processed food. 30:45 Fibre - How much do we eat and should we eat? 32:45 Plant diversity: 30 per week, leads to Intestinal microbe diversity. 35:15 Mapping the microbiome. 39:05 Microbiome and mental health - Vagus gut-brain axis, 42:55 Inflammation theory of depression - withdraw from society to heal. 43:50 Chronic inflammation caused by western diet and stress. 46:45 Your habits are more important than exceptions. 48:15 Restrictive calorie-counting diets aren’t sustainable for losing weight because of metabolic adaptation. 52:05 “The Appetite Reset” book - GLP1 weight loss drugs. 56:45 Adult obesity has doubled, adolescent obesity has quadrupled.
References: Federica Amati, “The Appetite reset”. Federica Amati, “EveryBODY should know this”. Francesco Asnicar et al.,’Gut micro-organisms associated with health, nutrition and dietary interventions’ paper. Zoe Nutrition - microbiome testing, glycemic monitoring, and personalised diet guidance. The microbiome, mental health & rethinking hygiene - Dr. Graham Rook episode Mood Food: The gut, diet and inflammation - Alex Laird episode Not all U.P.F’s are equal - Zoe Nutrition article
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