How to eat to lower inflammation - the top 5 foods to boost energy, stop pain, and to live longer | Prof Luke O’Neill

Most of us think of inflammation when an ankle swells or a cut turns red. It’s our body’s immune system, and without it, we couldn't fight infections or repair injuries.  But when it stays switched on, this chronic inflammation can drain your energy, can affect your health over the years, and even lead to heart disease. Eventually, 1 in 3 of us will develop an inflammatory disease. In today's episode, Professor Luke O'Neill - one of the world's top 1% immunologists - explains why that matters and what you can do about it. He explores how everyday foods can push inflammation up, or help calm it. He also explains why balance matters more than banning foods like sugar, red meat, gluten, and dairy. As for your gut, you’ll learn how anti-inflammatory foods like plants, fibre, and a healthy microbiome can help keep inflammation down.  By the end of the episode, you'll know how to eat, rest, and enjoy life in ways that can keep inflammation in check.  Could the way you eat help your body's healer do its job without going into overdrive?  🌱 Try our science-backed and tasty wholefood supplement Daily30 🌿Let your gut microbes snack on the ZOE Gut Health Bar Build healthy habits. Download the ZOE app today and start your trial for just £2.30 for your first week. 👉 Join ZOE Follow ZOE on Instagram. Timecodes 00:00 Intro 04:14 Why 1 in 3 people will get an inflammatory disease 06:49 When inflammation turns from healing to harmful 10:23 Why does your immune system now damage your heart and brain? 13:46 Why does chronic inflammation make you so tired? 15:35 The link between depression and inflammation explained 18:10 Does inflammation speed up ageing? 19:56 Testing for chronic inflammation - what CRP tells you 23:01 Does belly fat cause inflammation? What Ozempic reveals 25:46 Does your gut microbiome affect inflammation? 28:04 Are ultra-processed foods inflammatory? Sugar and fat explained 30:18 Does sugar make inflammation worse?  33:15 Insulin resistance and inflammation 35:07 Fructose: fruit vs processed food 39:35 Is red meat inflammatory? How much is too much 41:52 Does gluten cause inflammation?  44:29 Does dairy cause inflammation?  46:13 Seed oils and inflammation  46:40 The anti-inflammatory diet 49:38 Anti-inflammatory plants: how willow bark led to aspirin 51:32 Do polyphenols fight inflammation?  53:44 Do anti-inflammatory supplements work? Are they worth it? 54:34 How to reduce inflammation today: why morning sunshine matters 📚Books by our ZOE Scientists The Food For Life Cookbook Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati The Appetite Reset by Dr Federica Amati Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector Ferment by Prof. Tim Spector Good Mood Food (preorder) by Prof. Tim Spector Free resources from ZOE The Smart Snacking Guide: How to feed your gut, fuel your day, and snack without guilt The Hormone Harmony Guide: Tuning Your Body’s Internal Orchestra   Eating for Better Brain Health: Your brain-gut blueprint How to eat in 2026 - Discover ZOE’s 8 nutrition principles for long-term health Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks  Better Breakfast Guide Mentioned in today's episode Daily 30: Does it work? The Mediterranean diet and CRP levels, Nutrients (2018) Metabolic Reprogramming in Stromal and Immune Cells in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis, European Journal of Immunology, (2025)Episode transcripts are available here.

The world around us is louder than ever. From booming speakers to roaring traffic, our ears can take quite a beating. But have you ever stopped to consider the long-term impact of all this noise? Because hearing loss isn’t just about your ears. Emerging research suggests it could also affect your brain health in surprising ways. I’m joined by Professor Marcelo Rivolta to explore how noise exposure can cause lasting damage. He shares the early warning signs to look out for, what to do if your hearing begins to decline, and simple steps you can take to protect these vital organs on the side of your head. 🌱 Try our science-backed and tasty wholefood supplement Daily30 🌿Let your gut microbes snack on the ZOE Gut Health Bar Get our brand-new app and Gut Health Test designed by world-leading gut health and nutrition scientists to build healthy eating habits 👉 Join ZOE Follow ZOE on Instagram. 📚Books by our ZOE Scientists The Food For Life Cookbook Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati The Appetite Reset by Dr Federica Amati Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector Ferment by Prof. Tim Spector Good Mood Food (preorder) by Prof. Tim Spector Free resources from ZOE The Smart Snacking Guide: How to feed your gut, fuel your day, and snack without guilt The Hormone Harmony Guide: Tuning Your Body’s Internal Orchestra   Eating for Better Brain Health: Your brain-gut blueprint How to eat in 2026 - Discover ZOE’s 8 nutrition principles for long-term health Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks  Better Breakfast Guide Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here. Episode transcripts are available here.

Supermarket shelves are full of foods promising to be healthy: high-protein, low-fat, gluten-free, sugar-free. How do you know what's true?  Today, Professors Tim Spector and Sarah Berry, world-leading experts in nutrition and diet, share the six rules they use for their own weekly grocery shopping. They cover which food labels are worth trusting and which are just marketing scams, how to make snacking a part of a healthy diet, and why your daily staples, like bread, matter more than the occasional treat. By the end of this episode, you'll know exactly what to reach for on your next shop, and what to leave on the shelf. How many "healthy" scams are sitting in your basket? 🌱 Try our science-backed and tasty wholefood supplement Daily30 🌿Let your gut microbes snack on the ZOE Gut Health Bar Build healthy habits. Download the ZOE app today and start your trial for just £2.30 for your first week. 👉 Join ZOE Follow ZOE on Instagram. Timecodes 00:00 Intro 03:20 Why supermarkets stock 30,000 products (and why that's bad for you) 08:10 Is low-fat food actually healthy? A nutrition scientist explains 11:39 Why 'sugar-free' labels should make you suspicious 14:48 Why this professor avoids gluten-free food (unless you need it) 16:40 The protein label that tricks 70% of shoppers into buying junk food 19:27 How a cheap dairy waste product got rebranded as a health food 21:59 How many ingredients are really in a bag of Pringles? 24:37 The 30-second trick to spot ultra-processed food at the shop 27:33 How to tell a healthy granola from a fake one 29:24 Is cheese actually bad for your heart? Doctors got this wrong 33:37 The snack swap that cut heart disease risk by 30% in a real study 38:36 The 6 everyday foods that matter most for your long-term health 41:08 The simple fiber-to-carb ratio for picking a healthy bread 43:43 The 'unhealthy' breakfast a nutrition scientist admits to craving 46:47 Switching to whole grain could lower your risk of dying early 49:42 The label trick that makes fake kefir look healthy 50:07 What to check on a kombucha label before you buy it 52:51 Why 30 plants a week beats the old '5 a day' rule 53:42 The 'diversity jar' hack for hitting 30 plants a week fast 55:45 The pantry staple that quietly boosts your plant count 57:10 The most underrated vegetable for lowering blood pressure 59:56 The 6 rules two nutrition scientists use to shop for food 📚Books by our ZOE Scientists The Food For Life Cookbook Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati The Appetite Reset by Dr Federica Amati Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector Ferment by Prof. Tim Spector Good Mood Food (preorder) by Prof. Tim Spector Free resources from ZOE The Smart Snacking Guide: How to feed your gut, fuel your day, and snack without guilt The Hormone Harmony Guide: Tuning Your Body’s Internal Orchestra   Eating for Better Brain Health: Your brain-gut blueprint How to eat in 2026 - Discover ZOE’s 8 nutrition principles for long-term health Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks  Better Breakfast Guide Mentioned in today's episode The effect of snacking on nuts on heart health, The American journal of clinical nutrition (2020) Low fat diets for long-term weight loss, The Lancet (2015) Wholegrain consumption and all cause mortality, BMJ (2016)  ZOE Snacking Study Episode transcripts are available here.

From smartwatches to fitness trackers, more of us than ever are monitoring our health in real time. With just a glance at our wrist, we can check our step count, sleep quality, heart rate and, more recently, something called HRV. But what do these numbers actually mean? And more importantly, how can we use them to improve our lives? I’m joined by Dr Malcolm Finlay to break down the data behind the devices. He explains how to turn confusing metrics into meaningful action. helping you adjust your training, manage stress, and make smarter decisions for your health. 🌱 Try our science-backed and tasty wholefood supplement Daily30 🌿Let your gut microbes snack on the ZOE Gut Health Bar Get our brand-new app and Gut Health Test designed by world-leading gut health and nutrition scientists to build healthy eating habits 👉 Join ZOE Follow ZOE on Instagram. 📚Books by our ZOE Scientists The Food For Life Cookbook Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati The Appetite Reset by Dr Federica Amati Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector Ferment by Prof. Tim Spector Good Mood Food (preorder) by Prof. Tim Spector Free resources from ZOE The Smart Snacking Guide: How to feed your gut, fuel your day, and snack without guilt The Hormone Harmony Guide: Tuning Your Body’s Internal Orchestra   Eating for Better Brain Health: Your brain-gut blueprint How to eat in 2026 - Discover ZOE’s 8 nutrition principles for long-term health Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks  Better Breakfast Guide Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here. Episode transcripts are available here.

Picture the sound of a bone snapping - the kind of sound that makes you wince - and ask yourself how often you’ve thought about your bone health. Most of us only think about bone density when something breaks. Until then, your bones stay almost invisible, carrying you through every day. In today’s episode, Professor Elaine Dennison, a world-leading expert in bone health, explains why that needs to change, why stronger bones are key to living more healthy years, and why declining bone health isn’t inevitable. Elaine explains why it’s not just about avoiding broken bones, but about learning to understand one of the most important living tissues in your body. By the end of the episode, you’ll know exactly how to protect your bones so they can look after you now and for many years to come. Could your bones be the missing anti-aging link you’ve been missing? 🌱 Try our science-backed and tasty wholefood supplement Daily30 🌿Let your gut microbes snack on the ZOE Gut Health Bar Build healthy habits. Download the ZOE app today and start your trial for just £2.30 for your first week. 👉 Join ZOE Follow ZOE on Instagram. Timecodes 00:00 Intro 03:05 Are your bones dead tissue? The truth about bone biology 08:08 Peak bone mass: the age your bones stop getting stronger 11:06 What is osteoporosis? The condition you won't feel coming 14:01 Spinal fractures and death risk: what the research shows 15:53 What does osteoporosis do to your bones? The honeycomb explanation 17:46 Fragility fractures: why older adults break bones from a simple fall 20:02 Bone marrow function: what your bones do for your immune system 22:48 The gut-bone axis: how gut health affects bone health 27:01 Does stress affect bone health? The cortisol connection 29:45 Is alcohol good or bad for bone health? The surprising answer 30:16 Does extra weight protect your bones? What the science says 32:13 GLP-1 drugs and bone health: the risk no one's talking about 33:21 Muscle loss and bone density: why they're linked 35:37 DEXA scan: the only way to know your bone density 39:06 Osteoporosis medication: how doctors treat bone loss 40:51 Best exercise for bone density: why walking isn't enough 42:54 How much calcium do you need a day for strong bones? 44:04 Vitamin D and bone health: why you need it to absorb calcium 45:41 Why vitamin D deficiency is common in sunny Australia 47:22 Does HRT protect your bones? The benefits and risks explained 48:31 Do weighted vests improve bone density? What the evidence shows 49:44 How to improve bone health: the first steps to take 📚Books by our ZOE Scientists The Food For Life Cookbook Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati The Appetite Reset by Dr Federica Amati Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector Ferment by Prof. Tim Spector Good Mood Food (preorder) by Prof. Tim Spector Free resources from ZOE The Smart Snacking Guide: How to feed your gut, fuel your day, and snack without guilt The Hormone Harmony Guide: Tuning Your Body’s Internal Orchestra   Eating for Better Brain Health: Your brain-gut blueprint How to eat in 2026 - Discover ZOE’s 8 nutrition principles for long-term health Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks  Better Breakfast Guide Mentioned in today's episode The effect of Daily30 on Gut Health, Energy Levels, and Hunger in Healthy Adults, Cambridge University Press (2026) Mortality Rate in Patients with Vertebral Compression Fractures, Geriatric orthopaedic surgery & rehabilitation (2023) The Influence of the Mediterranean Diet on Bone Health, Nutrients (2023)  Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here. Episode transcripts are available here.

We’ve all heard the saying: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And while it may sound like a cliché, there’s some truth to it. Because for many of us, breakfast is the one meal we keep the same - day after day, morning after morning.  This consistency means our breakfast choices have a powerful influence on our long-term health. So, today I’m joined by Tim Spector and behaviour expert Professor Ben Gardner to share practical ways to break out of unhealthy routines and build a breakfast habit that will support you every single morning. 🌱 Try our science-backed and tasty wholefood supplement Daily30 🌿Let your gut microbes snack on the ZOE Gut Health Bar Get our brand-new app and Gut Health Test designed by world-leading gut health and nutrition scientists to build healthy eating habits 👉 Join ZOE Follow ZOE on Instagram. 📚Books by our ZOE Scientists The Food For Life Cookbook Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati The Appetite Reset by Dr Federica Amati Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector Ferment by Prof. Tim Spector Good Mood Food (preorder) by Prof. Tim Spector Free resources from ZOE The Smart Snacking Guide: How to feed your gut, fuel your day, and snack without guilt The Hormone Harmony Guide: Tuning Your Body’s Internal Orchestra   Eating for Better Brain Health: Your brain-gut blueprint How to eat in 2026 - Discover ZOE’s 8 nutrition principles for long-term health Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks  Better Breakfast Guide Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here. Episode transcripts are available here.

Are some of your "healthy" foods actually high-risk ultra-processed foods?  For decades, nutrition advice seemed relatively straightforward. Eat less sugar. Less salt. Less saturated fat. Then it all fell apart. In today’s episode, we examine the research that has forced us to rethink what makes food harmful in the first place. Two of the world’s leading nutrition scientists, Professor Tim Spector and Professor Sarah Berry, tell their own story of why they’ve changed their minds about it. We explore why sugar, salt and fat aren’t the whole story, explain why ultra-processed foods are making us sick, and share groundbreaking insight that only a small portion of them are really harmful. By the end of the episode, you’ll know what to watch out for and what to worry less about when you’re food shopping. Next time you reach for a "healthy" yogurt or a quick pasta sauce, would you still choose it if you knew exactly how it was made? 🌱 Try our science-backed and tasty wholefood supplement Daily30 🌿Let your gut microbes snack on the ZOE Gut Health Bar Build healthy habits. Download the ZOE app today and start your trial for just £2.30 for your first week. 👉 Join ZOE Follow ZOE on Instagram. Timecodes 00:00 Intro 02:24 The biggest myth about spotting ultra-processed food 07:52 How much of your diet is actually ultra-processed 12:09 Why people ate 500 more calories on ultra-processed food 13:47 The study that changed how scientists see ultra-processed food 17:52 The hidden artificial sweeteners nobody noticed they were eating 20:29 What sweeteners did to mice in this gut bacteria experiment 23:57 What emulsifiers might be doing to your gut lining 28:27 Why food additive combinations are impossible to track 31:30 Can food texture alone change how much you eat? 33:08 Two ultra-processed diets, 369 calories apart 37:10 How the tobacco industry invented food's "bliss point" 39:33 Why hyperpalatable food makes you eat the whole bag 42:17 Does skipping cakes and soda avoid ultra-processed food? 46:38 The "ultra-processed" foods that are actually protective 48:32 How ZOE built its own ultra-processed food risk score 51:01 Why 72 calories a minute is one sign of a risky food 53:48 The 25% of ultra-processed food causing most of the harm 56:11 The one-question test for spotting ultra-processed food 59:32 ZOE says 25% of food is high risk, not NOVA's 60% 01:01:54 Why some "healthy" yogurts are full of hidden sweeteners 01:03:16 Why children's food is designed to make kids overeat 01:05:41 Two pestos, one full of hidden sweeteners 01:10:20 Ultra-processed food uses the same trick as cigarettes 01:11:41 Why you shouldn't fear all processed food 📚Books by our ZOE Scientists The Food For Life Cookbook Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati The Appetite Reset by Dr Federica Amati Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector Ferment by Prof. Tim Spector Good Mood Food (preorder) by Prof. Tim Spector Free resources from ZOE The Smart Snacking Guide: How to feed your gut, fuel your day, and snack without guilt The Hormone Harmony Guide: Tuning Your Body’s Internal Orchestra   Eating for Better Brain Health: Your brain-gut blueprint How to eat in 2026 - Discover ZOE’s 8 nutrition principles for long-term health Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks  Better Breakfast Guide Mentioned in today's episode Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain, Cell (2019) Personalized microbiome-driven effects of sweeteners, Cell (2022) Food Emulsifiers and Metabolic Syndrome: The Role of the Gut Microbiota, Foods (2022) NutriNet-Santé Study Eating rate has sustained effects on energy intake from ultraprocessed diets, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2026) The role of hyper-palatable foods in energy intake, Eating Behaviours (2025) ZOE’s PREDICT studies: What we’ve learned Episode transcripts are available here.

Floating through all of our bodies is a complex network of hormones. You can think of it as an internal postal service, delivering vital messages and instructions to different organs and systems. But what happens if these messages get intercepted, mixed up, or worse, not delivered at all? In this episode, Dr Andrew Jenkinson tells us about a hormone that plays a crucial role in weight regulation and the undesirable consequences when it isn’t functioning properly. He also shares three simple tips you can do tomorrow to make sure your hormones support your health. 🌱 Try our science-backed and tasty wholefood supplement Daily30 🌿Let your gut microbes snack on the ZOE Gut Health Bar Get our brand-new app and Gut Health Test designed by world-leading gut health and nutrition scientists to build healthy eating habits 👉 Join ZOE Follow ZOE on Instagram. 📚Books by our ZOE Scientists The Food For Life Cookbook Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati The Appetite Reset by Dr Federica Amati Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector Ferment by Prof. Tim Spector Good Mood Food (preorder) by Prof. Tim Spector Free resources from ZOE The Smart Snacking Guide: How to feed your gut, fuel your day, and snack without guilt The Hormone Harmony Guide: Tuning Your Body’s Internal Orchestra   Eating for Better Brain Health: Your brain-gut blueprint How to eat in 2026 - Discover ZOE’s 8 nutrition principles for long-term health Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks  Better Breakfast Guide Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here Listen to the full episode here

Growing up, many of us were taught to just stay calm and carry on - as if stress was all in the mind, with no real effect on the body. But chronic stress can change your brain, raise your risk of heart disease, and even shorten your life.  In this episode, we ask: what happens when a stress response built to last minutes never switches off? Today, Professor Carmine Pariante, one of the world's leading researchers on stress, helps us understand what’s happening in your body during a stressful moment and why chronic stress disrupts sleep, appetite, and energy levels. Carmine also explains how worried you should be about cortisol, and whether "cortisol face" and "cortisol belly" are backed by evidence. By the end, you’ll understand why stress can be so powerful, when it becomes harmful, and have some evidence-based ways to manage it. Next time you reach for wine, your phone, or something sweet after a hard day, ask yourself: is this helping you cope, or helping you avoid how you feel? 🌱 Try our science-backed and tasty wholefood supplement Daily30 🌿Let your gut microbes snack on the ZOE Gut Health Bar Build healthy habits. Download the ZOE app today and start your trial for just £2.30 for your first week. 👉 Join ZOE Follow ZOE on Instagram. Timecodes 00:00 Intro 01:10 Should you be aiming for zero stress? 06:13 Inside your fight-or-flight response 11:19 Can stress actually cause a heart attack? 13:15 Why your stress response won't switch off 15:33 Why stress eating isn't a willpower problem 17:15 Why emotional stress feels physical 21:00 The earliest sign of chronic stress 22:05 There's no such thing as "it's all in your head" 25:15 Stress causes the same inflammation as a cold 29:54 The blunt truth about chronic stress 31:07 How stress clogs your arteries 32:55 Why chronic stress can steal your joy 35:10 What a brain scan reveals about chronic stress 37:07 Is "cortisol face" actually real? 38:49 Does the viral cortisol cocktail actually work? 41:20 Why control is the key to coping with stress 42:46 How singing for one hour lowered cortisol 45:15 Why exercise is such powerful stress relief 47:57 Foods with the strongest evidence against stress 49:45 Why alcohol doesn't actually relieve stress 50:58 Is your phone making your stress worse? 54:04 The first thing to do when stress overwhelms you 56:06 Why modern life never switches your stress off 📚Books by our ZOE Scientists The Food For Life Cookbook Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati The Appetite Reset by Dr Federica Amati Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector Ferment by Prof. Tim Spector Good Mood Food (preorder) by Prof. Tim Spector Free resources from ZOE The Smart Snacking Guide: How to feed your gut, fuel your day, and snack without guilt The Hormone Harmony Guide: Tuning Your Body’s Internal Orchestra   Eating for Better Brain Health: Your brain-gut blueprint How to eat in 2026 - Discover ZOE’s 8 nutrition principles for long-term health Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks  Better Breakfast Guide Mentioned in today's episode Effect of anti-inflammatory treatment on depressive symptom severity, The American Journal of Psychiatry (2025) Implementing a group singing intervention for depression, Frontiers in Medicine (2024) The Relationship between Diet and the Occurrence of Depressive Symptoms, Nutrients (2023) Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here. Episode transcripts are available here.

Today we’re talking about gut microbes. Professor Tim Spector often refers to the microbes in our gut as ‘mini pharmacies’. This is because they provide us with powerful chemicals that help support our health. But not all gut microbes are on our side. In fact, there’s an ongoing battle in our digestive system between the beneficial bugs and those that wish to do us harm. I’m joined by Tim Spector and microbiome researcher Nicola Segata join me to explore this microscopic war, and explain how simple changes to your diet could help tip the balance toward the good guys. 🌱 Try our science-backed and tasty wholefood supplement Daily30 Get our brand-new app and Gut Health Test designed by world-leading gut health and nutrition scientists to build healthy eating habits 👉 Join ZOE Follow ZOE on Instagram.📚Books by our ZOE Scientists The Food For Life Cookbook Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector Ferment by Prof. Tim Spector Good Mood Food (preorder) by Prof. Tim Spector Free resources from ZOE The Hormone Harmony Guide: Tuning Your Body’s Internal Orchestra Eating for Better Brain Health: Your brain-gut blueprint How to eat in 2026 - Discover ZOE’s 8 nutrition principles for long-term health Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks  Better Breakfast Guide Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here.Episode transcripts are available here.