One of the big takeaways from this book - for me, at least - will be Spector’s confirmation that vitamins and food supplements are either a waste of time and money at best, or even dangerous at worst. Fish oils, vitamin D supplements, protein powder (just to name a few): Spector explains why he used to believe in these nutritional aids and has now rejected them as ineffective. It turns out that our bodies are adapted to absorb vitamins from food. It’s really not a surprise, is it? (It really is it too bad that I’ve just succumbed to buying an expensive collagen supplement.) I also found Spector’s advice on tap water vs bottle to be enlightening. If you just want the bullet point, it turns out that we are better off nutritionally, financially and environmentally to drink tap water.

it is eloquent and engaging written, free from any specialist jargon, and divided into digestible bite-sized chapters that focus on one issue at a time, i.e. fish, meat, veganism, fads, mental health, obeisity etc. The number and variety of different plants is essential - the more plant species we eat in a week (ideally 20-30) the healthier and more diverse our gut microbes become which helps to keep our bodies in good shapePregnancy; Western guidelines recommend limiting caffeine to 200mg per day which is equivalent to one cup of regular coffee, 2 instant coffees and double the amount of tea There is no one-size-fits-all dietary recommendation. Different people have different sensitivity to salt, sugar, fat, different gut bacteria compositions (microbiomes). We have different preferences for when in the day to eat (e.g. whether to skip breakfast [which is ok to do, btw]) What this amounts to is very similar to a Mediterranean diet – one high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and containing less meat and dairy products than a typical western diet. Spector says: “It doesn’t really matter if you have bits of meat and fish on top of that – I don’t believe they’re necessarily healthy, but as long as you’re getting enough plants on your plate, it’s fine.” This book had a lot of potential, but left it mostly unfulfilled. On the one hand Spector challenges the moneyed reach of the food industry over research and government policy. On the other, he 'debunks' popular 'myths' about food - mostly telling us why every health fad, from plant milks to vitamin supplements, is actually harmful (or, in the case of chocolate, red wine, and bacon, 'not that bad'). the uniqueness of individuals (one size [recommendation] does NOT fit all), and the recent increased understanding of the role their own unique microbiome plays.

Tannins and bitter tastes are another positive sign, in foods such as high quality coffee, green tea, extra virgin olive oil, dark chocolate and red wine This book gave me a serious case of 'stop the planet, I want to hop off'. Everything is ruined. By marketing, chemicals, plastic, globalisation, profits, selfishness and mostly: GREED. The event that prompted this change was suffering a mini stroke at the top of a mountain in his early 50s, after an energetic day of skiing in the Alps. “I went from being a sporty, fitter than average middle-aged man, to a pill-popping, depressed stroke victim with high blood pressure,” he recalls. It was a wake-up call that prompted him to reassess everything he thought he knew about healthy eating, including much of what he’d learned at medical school.Easy to digest, the bite-sized 'bloggy' chapters have come under fair criticism, though I found that condensing useful.

O ne of the clearest and most accessible short nutrition books I have read: r efreshingly open-minded, deeply informative and free of faddish diet rules.' Bee Wilson, Guardian I especially appreciated how Tim Spector criticises the food industry's sinister tactics in marketing certain foods as healthy that are actually full of sugar and additives. Of course, it's ultimately up to the individual to manage their food choices, but there are so many underhand tactics that big food companies use to confuse the general public and it's nice to see someone calling out their bullshit. Neither GPs nor hospital doctors are obliged to keep up to date with any changes in diet or nutrition advice as part of their continuing education- not even diabetes doctorsFish oil; Results from a 2018 US review of 10 large high-quality studies found there was no effect whatsoever of fish oil supplements on risk of heart disease or stroke, and they should not be recommended. A UK review of 112,000 people in 9 trials showed taking long-chain omega-3 (fish oil, EPA or DHA) supplements does not benefit heart health or reduce risk of stroke or death from any cause Many GPs are still concerned about patients eating high-cholesterol foods such as eggs even though that myth was dispelled years ago I plan on re-reading select chapters including a very good chapter on pregnancy advice and how guidelines are over-restrictive and non-science based and that it is safe to drink some coffee, eat some sushi and have the odd sip of wine or beer. Natural probiotics in the form of fermented foods like cheese, yoghurt and kefir (kimchi and kombucha) are likely to be beneficial

A diverse Mediterranean-style diet with a range of fermented foods to keep your microbes happy is looking like the best present you can offer your brain A 5 year follow-up study of 1600 women and their children found that small amounts of alcohol consumed occasionally (as opposed to regularly) during pregnancy probably isn’t harmful. If you’re sensible, the odd sip of wine or beer here and there isn’t likely to do your baby any harm A easy to read book broken into topical chapters for easy digestion (hehe). The author's first point is that we are all not average when it comes to diet and response to food, and so to try things for ourselves. As such he avoids making sweeping recommendations, which I thought was nice.The discovery, in 2014, that the composition of the microbes in people’s guts could influence their body weight, provided Spector’s first “Aha!” moment. But the blinkers really fell off when he and his colleagues measured twins’ and non-twins’ responses to identical meals, and discovered that they could vary hugely between individuals, influenced by both the microbiome and genetics. He is highly dismissive of one-size-fits-all diets, and the notion that weight loss is all about calories in v calories out: “It is complete nonsense,” he says. “You and I can eat two identical muffins with the same calories in them, and you might have a mild sugar spike and no sugar dip, whereas I will have a big sugar spike and a sugar dip, and I will overeat by 200 calories in that day, and you won’t. That simple experiment, which we’ve now done on thousands of people, just blows out of the water the idea that it’s all about calories.” Overall this is a fascinating introduction to the topic and makes clear and interesting recommendations to us all in our diets and how we approach our eating habits. Whilst there are reservations I have about the way Spector discusses his sources and his evidence (as opposed to someone like Ben Goldacre who almost goes as far as making it the primary focus of his writing), I understand the need to do it and his own honesty in disclosing conflict of interest and the transparency of his thought process and actions is reassuring.