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The world’s top scientists explain the latest health, nutrition, and gut health research and translate it into practical advice to improve your health & weight. Join ZOE Science & Nutrition, on a journey of scientific discovery. Hosted by Jonathan Wolf.

ZOE Science & Nutrition

Hormones control almost every system in your body. They are like an orchestra playing, so when one instrument is a little off-key, it affects the whole system. If you feel tired, anxious, or are gaining weight, your hormones may be involved.

In this episode, leading reproductive expert Dr Helen O’Neill explains how hormone health affects fertility, metabolism, and mental health for both men and women. 

The core question is simple: if hormones run your body, how much influence do you have over them? 

Alongside ZOE’s head nutritionist, Dr Federica Amati, Helen explores the links between hormones and fatigue, anxiety, weight gain, fertility, and metabolic health. The episode covers thyroid health, chronic pain, sperm health, and why gut hormones play a central role in appetite and weight regulation. We also examine why some female-specific conditions remain misunderstood or undiagnosed, and how better data may help change that.

Most importantly, this episode focuses on what you can do to take back control. With emerging science suggesting that diet plays a key role in hormone regulation, you’ll hear how fibre, plant diversity, healthy fats, and key micronutrients support gut hormone production and fertility. You’ll also learn why changes made over three months may meaningfully influence fertility, and why conception is always a shared responsibility.

Help keep your hormones in tune with this guide to the relationship between gut, diet and hormones, produced in partnership with the hormone experts at Hertility.

🌱 Try our science-backed and tasty wholefood supplement Daily 30+

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.

Timecodes

00:00 Intro

03:50 One hormone can change everything

09:50 Injecting testosterone can shut this down

12:30 You were born with all the eggs you’ll ever have

15:15 The subtle signs your hormones are off

17:55 The most common thyroid problem no one spots

20:30 ‘Balancing hormones’ — myth or medicine?

23:10 The condition affecting one in 10 women

25:40 Why PCOS impacts weight and mood

28:10 Why women were excluded from medical trials

30:25 The data breakthrough changing women’s health

32:30 The devastating disease that mimics cancer

35:15 It takes nine years to diagnose this

37:00 The symptom doctors often miss

39:15 Your gut is a hormone factory

41:00 As powerful as a drug?

43:00 The ‘gourmet meal’ your hormones love

44:05 The flash of zinc at fertilisation

46:15 A handful of walnuts improved sperm health

48:50 Your sperm affects your child’s future

50:30 The fertility habits that really matter

52:40 The biggest takeaway about hormones and food

📚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

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

Mentioned in today's episode

Hertility Health

Effect of Walnuts on Male Fertility, Current Developments in Nutrition (2019)

Sperm health and risk of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, Nature (2023)

Interplay of Gut Microbiota in Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, Pharmaceuticals (2023)

Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here.

Episode transcripts are available here.

Tired, anxious, gaining weight? It could be your hormones | Dr Helen O’Neill

Today we’re talking about strength.

Building muscle doesn’t have to mean lifting heavy weights in a fancy gym. In fact, you can do it from the comfort of your living room. No expensive memberships, no extra long workouts, no excuses.

To prove it, I asked human performance expert Andy Galpin to design an at-home strength session for someone who’s never lifted a weight before - my sister. It’s quick, cheap, and a sure fire way to add years to your healthspan. 

If you’re new to strength training, this episode is the perfect place to start.

🌱 Try our new plant based wholefood supplement - Daily30+

*Naturally high in copper which contributes to normal energy yielding metabolism and the normal function of the immune system

📚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

Free resources from ZOE

How to eat in 2026 - Discover ZOE’s 8 nutrition principles for long-term healthLive 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 hereListen to the full episode here

Recap: How to build strength from the comfort of your home | Andy Galpin

Most of us never question how we breathe. Yet many of us over-breathe or mouth-breathe without realising it. In this episode, investigative journalist and international bestselling author James Nestor shares four breathing techniques to retrain your nervous system and support better health.

This episode is for anyone who feels stressed, snores, wakes up tired, or wants a simple way to improve their health. James, who has spent over a decade researching breathing science with leading respiratory experts, guides us through daily breathing habits to help calm your body, improve oxygen efficiency, and support long-term wellbeing. We explore why nasal breathing is more efficient, how slow breathing can influence the nervous system, and how modern lifestyles may have reshaped our airways. 

If breathing is something you do 20,000 times a day, what might change if you retrained it?

🌱 Try our science-backed and tasty wholefood supplement Daily 30+

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.

Timecodes

00:00 Intro

04:15 The change that fixed my sleep and energy

09:55 Could your headaches start with your breath?

11:40 Are you telling your brain you’re stressed?

15:25 Is this the junk food of breathing?

17:30 Snoring isn’t just annoying

19:35 Can you strengthen your airway?

23:35 The moment modern food changed our faces

27:10 How early habits shape how you breathe for life

28:10 Why your nose is more powerful than you think

30:20 Why slower breathing gives you more oxygen

32:35 The molecule you activate just by using your nose

35:20 The 10-day mouth breathing experiment

37:05 One night of mouth breathing changed everything

39:15 The surprising asthma connection

42:35 The fix is boring — and that’s the point

43:00 The one rule that changes everything

44:45 The truth about mouth taping

47:05 The safe way to try mouth tape

48:05 The five-minute breathing reset

49:25 Can you calm your nervous system in 20 seconds?

52:30 How fast will you feel a difference?

📚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

Free resources from ZOE

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

 Breath Reset: Free guided audio tracks from James Nestor

 Breath: Improve your health and wellbeing by discovering the lost art of breathing by James Nestor

 
Asthma & anxiety, Biological Psychology (2022)

 
Different breathing techniques in the management of asthma, Thorax (2006)

 
61% Self-Identify as Mouth Breathers, Sleep Review (2015)

Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here.

Episode transcripts are available here.

The 4 breathing secrets that will transform your health today | James Nestor

Today, we’re taking a closer look at one of the world’s favourite breakfasts - oats.

Depending on who you ask, oats are either a superfood or source for concern. Either a great way to get fibre or a worrying blood sugar spiker. An all natural ally or pesticide riddled wrong’un. 

So what’s the truth? Are oats a smart start to your day or something to be cautious about?

Professor Sarah Berry joins me to dig into the science. What does the literature say about oats?

🌱 Try our new plant based wholefood supplement - Daily30+

*Naturally high in copper which contributes to normal energy yielding metabolism and the normal function of the immune system

📚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

Free resources from ZOE

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 hereListen to the full episode here

Recap: Should you eat oats every morning? | Sarah Berry

Snacks make up a quarter of what most people eat. Yet most of us never question them.

In this episode, Professor Sarah Berry, ZOE’s Chief Scientist, explains why snacking is not the problem and how seven snack swaps can lower cholesterol, support gut health, and reduce heart disease risk.

Most snacks are high in sugar, salt, and saturated fat, and many carry “health” claims that hide this. Sarah breaks down how to spot this, explains what makes a good snack and why snack timing matters.

You’ll walk away with seven simple snack ideas that help improve cholesterol, blood sugar, and heart health in weeks.

If you’re a snacker, this may be the easiest place to improve your diet.

🌱 Try our science-backed and tasty wholefood supplement Daily 30+

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.

Timecodes

00:00 Intro

03:31 95% of us snack every day

06:33 The 9pm rule that changes everything

12:43 Why late snacks keep you less full

16:33 The breakfast mistake that adds 320 calories

21:35 The ‘bliss point’ that makes snacks hard to stop

25:37 Should you worry about sugar?

29:32 How to actually read a snack label

33:45 Why sugar appears under 42 different names

35:30 The simple snack most people overlook

38:15 The protein-packed food we don’t eat enough of

41:26 The one swap that cut heart disease risk by 30%

43:22 Why this high-fat snack doesn’t cause weight gain

46:26 The fermented food that supports your gut

48:20 The creamy fruit that keeps you full

50:30 The sweet treat that may help your heart

52:55 How quickly you’ll feel the difference

55:35 Why most snacks quietly drag your diet down

56:32 Why timing may matter more than frequency

01:00:20 Can you snack and still stay healthy?

📚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

Free resources from ZOE

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

ZOE snacking study: What should you do?

The ZOE Big IF Study: What did we find?

Whole Fruits Versus 100% Fruit Juice, Nutrition Bulletin (2025)

What are added sugars, and where are they hidden?

Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here.

Episode transcripts are available here.

7 snacks for a longer & healthier life | Prof Sarah Berry

Today, we’re asking how we can boost our brain.

Our brain is a living, morphing organ that is constantly responding to the stimuli we feed it. So the big question is: what sort of stimuli will keep our brain strong and healthy? Is it brain puzzles? Supplements?

Neuroscientist Dr. Wendy Suzuki believes the most powerful way to support your brain is by simply moving your body. She’s joining me today to explain why.

🌱 Try our new plant based wholefood supplement - Daily30+

*Naturally high in copper which contributes to normal energy yielding metabolism and the normal function of the immune system

📚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

Free resources from ZOE

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 hereListen to the full episode here

Recap: How exercise slows brain ageing | Dr Wendy Suzuki

Chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and obesity are killing more people than ever before. Could your diet be the biggest driver of this risk?

Today, Dr Mark Hyman explains why food matters more than genetics for long-term health, and how one diet change can make the biggest difference. 

Alongside Professor Tim Spector, Mark, a 15-times New York Times bestselling author and a practising family doctor, explores how modern eating is linked to chronic disease and what the science says reduces risk.

We break down how food is designed to make us eat more, how this affects metabolism, insulin and inflammation, and why this matters more than your genes.

By the end of the episode, you’ll understand the single most important dietary change Mark believes can lower chronic disease risk, based on clinical experience.

If the modern world is driving these conditions, what’s one small change you can make to take back control of your future health?

🌱 Try our science-backed and tasty wholefood supplement Daily 30+

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.

Timecodes

00:00 Intro

04:12 Why birth is designed to be messy

08:32 Why your first microbes shape everything later

10:46 Can you replace microbes after a C-section?

13:05 Why the first few years matter more than the rest

15:54 Why antibiotics always come with a hidden cost

17:42 How families swap microbes without realising

19:06 Why microbes survive in some places — and not others

21:25 Why bigger social groups protect your immune system

22:30 How scientists can tell who you live with

24:15 Why closeness matters more than genetics

25:38 Can you catch bad gut bugs from other people?

26:29 Can anxiety spread through gut microbes?

27:55 How scientists now rank “good” and “bad” gut bugs

31:05 Why countryside living changes your gut health

33:49 Why getting dirty may improve mental health

35:33 Why sterilising everything can backfire

38:05 Why pets — especially dogs — boost gut health

42:18 Can your partner improve your health without dieting?

43:25 Why loneliness harms your gut microbiome

45:25 The shared habit of long-living communities

52:01 Why fighting germs may be harming your health

📚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

Free resources from ZOE

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 episodeFood Fix Uncensored: Inside The Food Industry's Biggest Cover-Ups by Mark Hyman

 Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss

 Nourishment: What Animals Can Teach Us about Rediscovering Our Nutritional Wisdom by Fred Provenza

 
Global Burden of Disease study: Diet vs. smoking, Lancet (2019)

 
Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain, Cell (2019)

 
The study of food addiction, Appetite (2010)

 Can fermented food fight inflammation?

 
Breast Cancer Risk among US-Resident Polish Migrant Women, IJERPH (2021)

 
Milk and Health, NEJM (2020)

Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here.

Episode transcripts are available here.

The #1 diet change to make today to fight chronic disease | Dr Mark Hyman

Today, we’re talking about arthritis.

It might not sound as alarming as cancer or heart disease, but arthritis can quietly turn simple movements into painful tasks.

Here’s the good news. Emerging research suggests that diet can be a powerful first line of defence - helping to lower inflammation and reduce the risk of the disease developing.

I’m joined by Dr. Tamiko Katsumoto to explore how simple changes to what’s on our plate can help protect our joints.

🌱 Try our new plant based wholefood supplement - Daily30+

*Naturally high in copper which contributes to normal energy yielding metabolism and the normal function of the immune system

📚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

Free resources from ZOE

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

Recap: How to lower your risk of arthritis | Dr Tamiko Katsumoto

Are modern habits around cleanliness, parenting, and social contact shaping your gut health more than you realise? 

In this episode, Professor Tim Spector explains how gut microbes are shared between people - through relationships, daily contact, and the environments we live in, and why this matters for long-term health. You’ll learn how human contact may be influencing your gut in ways most of us never consider.

Tim explains why supporting gut microbiome is less about control and more about balance, and you’ll learn simple ways to support a healthier gut through food, social connection and lifestyle habits.

If your gut reflects the people you live with and the places you spend time, what small change could you make this week - in your home, your habits, or your social life - that might support your gut for the long term?

🌱 Try our science-backed and tasty wholefood supplement Daily 30+

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.

Timecodes

00:00 Intro

04:12 Why birth is designed to be messy

08:32 Why your first microbes shape everything later

10:46 Can you replace microbes after a C-section?

13:05 Why the first few years matter more than the rest

15:54 Why antibiotics always come with a hidden cost

17:42 How families swap microbes without realising

19:06 Why microbes survive in some places — and not others

21:25 Why bigger social groups protect your immune system

22:30 How scientists can tell who you live with

24:15 Why closeness matters more than genetics

25:38 Can you catch bad gut bugs from other people?

26:29 Can anxiety spread through gut microbes?

27:55 How scientists now rank “good” and “bad” gut bugs

31:05 Why countryside living changes your gut health

33:49 Why getting dirty may improve mental health

35:33 Why sterilising everything can backfire

38:05 Why pets — especially dogs — boost gut health

42:18 Can your partner improve your health without dieting?

43:25 Why loneliness harms your gut microbiome

45:25 The shared habit of long-living communities

52:01 Why fighting germs may be harming your health

📚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

Free resources from ZOE

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

 
5 daily habits of people who live longer | Dan Buettner

 
Risk of Asthma and Allergies in Children Delivered by Cesarean Section, The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (2024)

 
Can maternal-child microbial seeding interventions improve the health of infants delivered by Cesarean section?, Cell (2022)

 
Dietary Exposure to Antibiotic Residues, Frontiers (2022)

 
The person-to-person transmission landscape of the gut and oral microbiomes, Nature (2023)

 
Gut micro-organisms associated with health, nutrition and dietary interventions, Nature (2025)

 
Intergenerational transmission of diet-induced obesity, A&R (2021)

 
The indoors microbiome and human health, Nature Reviews Microbiology (2024)

 
Cohabiting family members share microbiota with one another and with their dogs, Microbiology and Infectious Disease (2013)

 
Rural and urban microbiota, Gut Microbes (2014)

 
Infant pacifier sanitization and risk, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (2021)

Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here.

Episode transcripts are available here.

5 ways relationships change your gut health | Prof Tim Spector

Today, we’re exploring circadian rhythms.

Did you know you could eat the exact same meal at two different times of day and your body would respond drastically differently? It sounds like a riddle - but it actually comes down to your body clock. 

Every cell in your body has one. A tiny internal ticker, shaped by evolution over thousands of years, to keep you in sync with the phases of the day.

So, how can we ensure we’re doing the right things at the right times? I’m joined by Professor Russell Foster to help us all stay in time with our natural rhythm.

🌱 Try our new plant based wholefood supplement - Daily30+

*Naturally high in copper which contributes to normal energy yielding metabolism and the normal function of the immune system

📚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

Free resources from ZOE

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

Recap: How to lower your risk of arthritis | Dr Tamiko Katsumoto

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