Diet guru Professor Tim Spector has revealed what he eats in a day to keep his health in tip-top shape and reduce his risk of cancer and type 2 diabetes.
In a video posted on social media, the leading nutrition expert and founder of diet app ZOE, which has two million subscribers, said he wanted to answer the question he “gets asked most.”
Professor Spector’s plan focuses on foods that improve gut health, which he says is crucial to preventing a range of diseases.
In the TikTok video that has 42.6K views, Professor Spector reveals his healthy yet indulgent meals, most of which are plant-based.
Their daily menu included a variety of surprisingly high-calorie foods, including soft cheese as a snack and curry.
Gut health is a priority for the founder of health app Zoe and professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, who says diversity in your diet is crucial to preventing diseases such as cancer and type 2 diabetes.
In the TikTok video that has 42.6K views, Professor Spector reveals his healthy yet surprisingly indulgent meals, most of which are plant-based.
He said: ‘For my gut health, my main goal is to make sure I include as many plants as possible and always add some fermented foods when I can.
‘My day usually starts with yogurt, kefir and lots of fresh fruit, nuts and seeds.
‘For lunch I made a quick salad with seasonal vegetables dressed with a kefir-based dressing.
‘Before dinner I had some cheese and kimchi crackers and then for dinner I made a vegetable curry with rice and, as you might have guessed, I added more kefir at the end to make sure I got all the probiotic benefits.’
Previously, Professor Spector had praised beans and legumes for being “anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity, anti-cancer, neuroprotective” and good for “immune response”.
This, she explained, is because legumes are high in fiber and also contain proteins and polyphenols, a type of antioxidant that “feeds” healthy intestinal bacteria.
Fresh fruits and vegetables dressed with plenty of gut-boosting kefir are on the menu for the prominent nutrition scientist who shared his typical daily habits in a TikTok video while sunbathing in Spain.
For lunch, Professor Spector prepared a quick salad with seasonal vegetables dressed with a kefir-based dressing.
According to data from Cancer Research UK, one in three colorectal cancers may be linked to eating too little fibre.
Fiber in the diet helps food move through the digestive tract, which means harmful chemicals spend less time in the gut.
Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables, and fermented foods such as kimchi, can also diversify the bacteria in the gut, says Professor Spector, which is thought to provide a foundation for better overall health, wellbeing and an ability to prevent disease.
Although scientists are not sure exactly how gut microbes influence blood sugar spikes, how well fats are digested and how quickly the body eliminates them, Professor Spector says.
She adds that both high blood sugar and poor digestion cause inflammation throughout the body.
The diet guru had a pre-dinner snack consisting of some cheese crackers and kimchi.
For dinner, she made a vegetable curry with rice and more kefir mixed in at the end to make sure she got all those probiotic benefits.
Inflammation, an immune system response to disease or injury that helps fight it or heal properly, can be a good thing.
But if the response continues, it can lead to long-term diseases such as arthritis, heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and cancer, according to nutrition site Zoe.
A 2021 study Substances present in kefir have been found to reduce the activity of proteins that activate immune responses and cause inflammation.
Kefir can help you lose weight, which is vital since being overweight can also cause the body to produce more inflammation.