A doctor has revealed one simple time that can dramatically improve your health that won't cost you a penny. Dr Tim Spector, a professor of genetics, is at the forefront of raising awareness about the significance of the gut microbiome and its role in overall health.
However, it's the lower gut and the bacteria within it that are particularly crucial to our wellbeing. The vast majority of our gut bacteria are beneficial.
"They’re good for us because they’re like little chemical factories; they convert the energy they get from food and make them into thousands of different chemicals that are really good for us in a number of ways. They produce chemicals that we can’t produce in our body," said the 66-year old professor.
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Dr Spector likens the gut to "basically our second brain" – sending signals about anxiety and stress – "It’s really, really important for our mood and our energy".
Additionally, these chemicals are "crucial for controlling inflammation" – as well as helping lower the risk of food allergies, immune diseases and cancer.
The professor adds: "The microbiome has been associated with a poor state of health in virtually every single chronic disease that I’ve seen data on – either as a consequence of it or as a cause. And so that’s why everyone really needs to focus on their gut microbiome.
"However bad your diet has been, you can still make improvements to your gut microbe at any time in life".
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But there's one simple piece of advice he recommends that can greatly improve your microbiome, and therefore your overall health, that doesn't cost anything.
Dr Spector supports the practice of ‘time-restricted eating’, suggesting a nightly 16-hour break for the gut to repair itself, thus consuming meals within an eight-hour span during the day (for instance, between 10am and 6pm).
"Leaving time overnight is good for your gut, and reduces inflammation and stress on the immune system," he advises, emphasizing that an overnight fasting period is realistically manageable.
In contrast, having dinner at 9pm and breakfast at 6am, "means your gut lining hasn’t had a chance to be repaired properly, so that lining is uneven and a bit inflamed, a lot of the debris hasn’t been taken away by the microbes".
A large study with research platform ZOE involving over 100,000 people found that after three weeks people experienced "less bloat, less constipation, less indigestion, and interestingly, less hunger".
Spector has recently launched 'The Food For Life Cookbook', aimed at enhancing gut health. Other tips he suggests to help develop healthy guy biome include.
Eating 30 different plants each week. This can include vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices. Concentrated forms of plants also count including coffee and dark chocolate.
Dr Spector also recommends taking a tip from our ancestors by making fermented foods at home such as saurekraut. Adding more fibre to your diet is also beneficial, with plants like kale and broccoli high in fibre, but beans, legumes and lentils are often overlooked as sources.
The Food For Life Cookbook by Tim Spector, published by Jonathan Cape and priced at £28, features photography by Issy Croker. It is available now.
