Tip 1: Avoid ultra-processed foods
We often worry about fat, sugar and salt content but, Tim Spector says, the real health threat comes from ultra-processed foods, or “fake foods”, as he calls them, which only contain extracts of natural ingredients as well as added flavourings . The team cites examples such as “converted starches, modified refined sugars, gums, emulsifiers, and artificial sweeteners,” adding “I think virtually all children’s food and children’s yoghurt are ultra-processed.”
In the UK, we have the highest intake of ultra-processed foods in Europe
Prof. Tim Spector
“In the UK, we have the highest intake of ultra-processed foods in Europe” says Tim, “and it’s not a coincidence that we also have the highest rates of childhood obesity and adult obesity, and diabetes.”
What a diet of ultra-processed food does to your system
Michael Mosley and Tim Spector’s son, at the request of his father, went on fast food diets for two weeks and ten days respectively. During this time, Michael put on three kilos, his waist size increased by three centimeters, and his blood sugars went into the diabetic range. “I also developed these crazy cravings for this stuff, and it really lowered my mood.”
Tim’s son felt ill after four days of the diet, but Tim made him persist for the sake of science! He also put on weight and lost between 30%-40% of his species in his gut microbe.
“This is a great example of what the British public are doing,” says Tim. “Many people are eating over 90% of all their calories as ultra-processed foods, knocking out their gut microbes, increasing their appetite and lowering their mood.”
Tip 2: Change up your breakfast
Dietary experimentation can be gradual and Tim’s next tip – change your breakfast – is a good example of this.
Tim found that what appeared to be a healthy breakfast – muesli, tea with low fat milk, orange juice and, sometimes, brown toast and marmalade – led to him gaining a kilo in weight every year for 10 years! He also discovered – via a glucose monitor – that his breakfast put his blood sugars into the diabetic range. However, his wife, who ate the same breakfast, did not experience the same sugar spike.
Tim’s solution was to change to a high fat breakfast of full fat yoghurt with nuts, seeds and berries. He also switched his tea to coffee, which has a positive effect on gut microbes. The effect was revolutionary: no more sugar spikes, no mid-morning hunger pangs, much better mood.
“Do a little experiment at home for a week and find out what suits you,” says Tim.